---
title: "Ukrainian Defense Industry: From Chinese Parts to Local Cameras — How the Sector is Changing"
description: "🇺🇦 The Ukrainian defense industry is gaining momentum: the share of Chinese parts in drones has dropped to 38%, and cameras and gimbals are already being made locally. However, complex electronics are still imported — and that's normal. 🚀 #DefenseIndustry #Ukraine #Drones"
date: 2026-06-06T08:02:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukrainian-defense-industry-from-chinese-parts-to-local-cameras-how-the-sector-is-changing
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian Defense Industry: From Chinese Parts to Local Cameras — How the Sector is Changing

The Ukrainian defense industry is undergoing a period of active transformation. Over the past few years, the country's enterprises have significantly increased the production of components for front-line needs, allowing for faster adaptation to combat tasks and more flexible selection of parts for new developments.

### What is already being produced in Ukraine

Today, Ukrainian factories are mastering the production of structural elements, mechanical parts, parts of electronic boards, and modules. In parallel, software development, control systems, and the modernization of production capacities are advancing. According to industry representatives, local suppliers win due to logistics speed and the ability to respond quickly to customer requests.

### Three key trends

Three processes are taking place simultaneously in the industry:

  - Localization of the production of simple and medium-complexity components;

  - Creation of own engineering teams;

  - Investments in production capacities for the serial release of critical parts.

This process is supported by state programs and defense clusters, such as Brave1. However, experts warn: localization is a long-term process that requires years of work.

### Chinese accent: figures and facts

According to open estimates, the share of Chinese components in Ukrainian drones last year decreased to approximately 38%. At the same time, the situation varies significantly from company to company: some manufacturers have achieved a localization level of up to 90%, while others still depend on imports.

### Successes in optics and stabilization

One of the bright examples of progress was the mastery of drone camera production. Individual companies are already planning the construction of specialized enterprises for the production of day and night cameras. Ukrainian engineers have also mastered the production of gimbals — systems with a mount and software for image stabilization. According to market estimates, some of these solutions are not inferior to leading Western analogues.

### Where dependence remains

Complex microelectronic components remain imported for now. Manufacturers explain this by the fact that creating their own production requires billions of dollars in investment, long-term preparation, and a large domestic market. The Ukrainian defense industry cannot yet fully replace such technologies.

### Supply diversification

Although China remains one of the key suppliers, Ukrainian companies are actively diversifying supply chains — increasing purchases in EU countries, the USA, Taiwan, and South Korea. It is not yet possible to completely abandon Chinese components, but work to reduce critical dependence on a single market is in full swing.