Germany seeks to expand joint deep strike weapons production with Ukraine – Pistorius

He stated this at the start of his visit to Kyiv, Ukrinform reports, citing the German news channel n-tv.

Pistorius said that Berlin aims to deepen cooperation with Ukraine in the development of new weapons systems, particularly long-range unmanned platforms.

"Germany and Ukraine are strategic partners who both benefit from cooperation. This results in numerous new projects. The focus is on the joint development of state-of-the-art unmanned systems at all ranges, especially in the area of deep strikes. In this way, we strengthen the security of our countries," he said.

The minister stressed that Berlin seeks to establish new joint ventures with Ukraine's defense industry in order to combine German technologies with Ukraine's unique battlefield experience.

"In doing so, we benefit from the Ukrainians' experience on the battlefield. We also plan to use the Brave1 platform to support developers who can demonstrate promising innovations," Pistorius said.

During the visit, particular attention was given to addressing NATO's capability gaps in the area of long-range weapons. Germany has already financed the procurement of hundreds of missiles for Patriot systems and agreed on the delivery of additional Iris-T launchers.

Pistorius arrived on a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital on Monday, May 11.