Ukraine's commander-in-chief approves Development Concept for Rocket Forces and Artillery

Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has approved the Development Concept for the Rocket Forces and Artillery, which outlines the key areas for developing the branch's capabilities through to 2030.

Source: Syrskyi on Facebook

Quote: "While fighting a difficult war today, we must also build the military of the future. Developing capabilities, introducing new technologies and preparing for future challenges are no less important than carrying out current combat missions. Our strategic decisions are aimed precisely at this."

Details: Syrskyi noted that rocket forces and artillery are now represented across virtually all components of Ukraine's defence forces. Ukrainian artillery units carry out thousands of fire missions every day and inflict significant losses on Russian forces. Modern artillery systems supplied by partner countries, along with the development of Ukrainian defence technologies, continue to strengthen one of the largest branches of the Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, Russia's full-scale invasion has significantly changed the methods and conduct of warfare. The tactics employed by military forces continue to evolve, while unmanned aerial systems, guided aerial bombs and other modern weapons are playing an increasingly important role.

Despite these changes, artillery remains an indispensable element of the modern battlefield, with one of its key advantages being its ability to respond rapidly to threats and changing circumstances.

Syrskyi also pointed to several factors that negatively affect the effectiveness of rocket forces and artillery, including critical dependence on foreign supplies of weapons and ammunition, complex logistics caused by the wide variety of systems in service, the limited range of certain weapons and a shortage of artillery reconnaissance assets.

The Development Concept takes all these factors into account, as well as combat experience, projected trends in weapons development and potential changes in their employment, Syrskyi said.

He stressed that domestically produced systems should form the backbone of Ukraine's artillery units. Worn-out Soviet-calibre artillery systems that cannot be upgraded or repaired will be gradually phased out, while units equipped with the most advanced foreign-made artillery systems will be in service. The Concept also provides for further optimisation of the artillery inventory.

Modern warfare has demonstrated that artillery effectiveness depends directly on the quality of reconnaissance and the speed of information transfer. For this reason, the creation of a modern artillery reconnaissance system has been identified as one of the Concept's key priorities.

Another area of focus is missile armaments. Ukraine must expand its ability to strike targets throughout Russia's operational-strategic and strategic depth. To achieve this, the Concept envisages completing the development and launching mass production of domestically produced ballistic and cruise missiles. Combined with unmanned systems, this is expected to create a balanced long-range strike capability and enable the engagement of targets at distances of up to 2,000 km.

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