---
title: "\"Ukraine is ahead of the West in armored vehicles, but not in engines\": Head of \"Ukrainian Armor\" on real advantages and systemic industry problems"
description: "Vladyslav Belbas, Head of \"Ukrainian Armor,\" stated at a conference with the German defense industry that Ukraine outperforms the West in armored vehicles regarding price and development speed, but cannot compete in engines and transmissions due to the lack of an auto industry."
date: 2026-10-17T16:38:33.131Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-ahead-in-armored-vehicles-not-engines
tags: [ukraine, defense-industry, armored-vehicles, bogdana, novator-2, germany, wto, ukrainian-armored-vehicles]
author: "Andrey Kosynko"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# "Ukraine is ahead of the West in armored vehicles, but not in engines": Head of "Ukrainian Armor" on real advantages and systemic industry problems

![Participants of the Ukrainian and German delegations at a defense industry conference discussing armored vehicles.](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/17/ukraina-operezhdae-zapad-v-broneavtomobilyah-no-ne-v-dvigatelyah/ukraina-operezhdae-zapad-v-broneavtomobilyah-no-ne-v-dvigatelyah-1.webp)

## Key Points

- Ukraine outperforms Western partners in armored vehicles in terms of price, development speed, production, and technology implementation
- The lack of domestic engine and transmission manufacturing makes competition with the West in this segment impossible
- The automotive industry disappeared after Ukraine joined the WTO in 2008 without a transition period
- The industry requires war risk insurance and underground locations to protect production facilities from strikes
- The company introduced the "Novator 2" armored vehicle featuring a Ukrainian-made remotely controlled module

At the meeting-conference of German and Ukrainian defense-industrial complex delegations entitled "Ukraine — Germany: Defense Industry Cooperation," Vladyslav Belbas, General Director of "Ukrainian Armor," delivered a detailed analysis of the competitiveness of Ukrainian armored vehicle manufacturing compared to Western counterparts. His statement, conveyed by RBC-Ukraine, highlights a dual picture: in a number of key parameters, Ukrainian armored vehicles already surpass the products of European manufacturers, yet structural deficits in the automotive industry limit further expansion of the technological gap.

### Where Ukraine is already ahead: price, speed, and technology

According to Belbas, Ukraine has been ahead of Western partners in the armored vehicle segment "for a long time" — both in the price range and in the pace of technical developments. As a clear example, he cited the scale of serial production of armored vehicles and their cost, which, in his estimation, makes Ukrainian products competitive on the international market. The company head highlighted four areas where domestic armored vehicle manufacturing demonstrates leadership: the speed of developing new prototypes, the speed of launching them into serial production, the final cost of the finished product, and the pace of introducing new technologies into combat vehicles.

### The missing link: engines and transmissions

At the same time, Belbas directly pointed to a systemic limitation of the industry: Ukraine lacks its own production of automotive engines and transmissions. "It is difficult to stay ahead of countries in armored vehicles when there is no automotive industry," he stated. According to him, competing with Western manufacturers in the power unit and transmission systems segment "will not work for now," since Ukrainian enterprises essentially only assemble vehicles from imported components rather than creating their key assemblies from scratch.

### The root of the problem: WTO accession in 2008

The General Director of "Ukrainian Armor" linked the disappearance of the automotive industry to a specific historical decision: Ukraine joined the World Trade Organization in 2008 without a transition period. Belbas called this "an industry problem" that deprived the country of the opportunity to form and protect a local automotive industrial cluster. As a result, in his estimation, the very absence of domestic engine and transmission suppliers has become the main brake on the full-cycle production of armored vehicles.

### Protecting production facilities: war risk insurance and underground locations

A separate block of the speech was devoted to the security of production sites amid ongoing strikes on industrial infrastructure. Belbas emphasized that during missile and drone attacks, "safety comes first" and demanded declared support programs from the state, which, in his words, "unfortunately, are not being implemented." He pointed to two specific tools that the industry lacks, in his opinion: war risk insurance for production facilities and the creation of underground locations to house critical workshops. To date, according to his data, lending remains the only form of state support.

### Context: "Novator 2" as an example of the Ukrainian modular approach

Belbas's speech came against the backdrop of the company's recent technical achievement: "Ukrainian Armor," together with a partner, presented the "Novator 2" armored vehicle equipped with a remotely controlled armored module of Ukrainian production. This model illustrates the very vector of development mentioned by the company head — the introduction of new technologies into the design of combat vehicles while maintaining a competitive price. The conference "Ukraine — Germany: Defense Industry Cooperation" served as a platform where these theses were voiced directly before representatives of the German defense industry, emphasizing the practical rather than merely declarative nature of Ukraine's strategy in armored vehicle manufacturing.

## Fact-Check & Sources

- [Украина опережает Запад в создании бронеавтомобилей, - CEO "Украинской бронетехники"](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayina-viperedzhae-zahid-stvorenni-broneavtomobiliv-1792241768.html) - Direct citation of Vladyslav Belbas's statement at the conference "Ukraine — Germany: Defense Industry Cooperation." All theses of the article correspond to the text of the primary source.

## FAQ

### In what aspects is Ukraine ahead of the West in armored vehicles?

According to Vladyslav Belbas, General Director of "Ukrainian Armor," Ukraine leads in four parameters: final product price, speed of developing new prototypes, speed of launching serial production, and the rate of introducing new technologies.

### Why can't Ukraine compete with the West in engines and transmissions?

Ukraine lacks its own production of automotive engines and transmissions. According to Belbas, the automotive industry disappeared after the country joined the WTO in 2008 without a transition period, resulting in enterprises only assembling vehicles using imported components.

### What industry support measures did Belbas propose?

He pointed out the need for declared state programs: war risk insurance for production facilities and the creation of underground locations to house critical workshops. According to him, lending remains the only form of support at present.

### What is the "Novator 2"?

The "Novator 2" is an armored vehicle presented by "Ukrainian Armor" in partnership with another company. Its key feature is a remotely controlled armored module of Ukrainian production.