Ministry of Defence should immediately take measures to unblock procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare systems for military units, - Public Anti-Corruption Council

Defence Ministry should unblock procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare systems for military

The Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence demands that the Ministry immediately take measures to unblock the procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare for military units.

This was written on the council's Facebook page, Censor.NET reports.

It is noted that as a result of the adoption of amendments to Resolution 1275, which was supposed to simplify procedures, the procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare devices is at risk, as some units will have to wait at least a month for suppliers with new documents due to the new requirements.

The council explains that from now on, in order to purchase a UAV, the supplier must provide it to a military procurer in a military unit somewhere in Kharkiv or Donetsk region:

price calculation;
an expert opinion on the estimated cost of the product, which is valid for 6 months;
a certificate that the supplier's profit does not exceed 25% of the production cost.

In addition, the military needs to obtain one of the following documents from the supplier in order to use the products in the future:

a certificate of compliance with standards or specifications;
a certificate of registration of a staffing item;
a document on approval for operation;
an act on conducting joint departmental tests.

The most problematic issue for units is obtaining a certificate. Currently, according to members of the MOD PAC, some units, having agreements with a dozen suppliers of codified products, have to wait 3-4 weeks for the suppliers to receive a certificate of compliance with the standards, which costs approximately 70,000 hryvnias.

"War does not give time to wait. The Ukrainian military, who are fighting on the frontline today, need effective protection against UAVs, enemy communication suppression systems, and drones to perform their tasks. And they have the funding to do so. But due to changes to the Cabinet of Ministers' Resolution No. 1275, the military spent barely a third of the 5 billion funds allocated for December-January!" the post reads.

According to the MOD PAC, military units cannot even purchase systems that they have used before and that have proven to be effective.

"Manufacturers have difficulty concluding contracts, even for codified products, when it comes to replacing components. The enemy is increasing the use of UAVs, and instead of a quick response, we are drowning in bureaucracy. Last year, the brigades could buy what they needed, and the market for manufacturers was competitive, which prevented them from inflating prices. Today, everything is different: artificial market restrictions and the only "permitted" suppliers have led to a 30-60% increase in the price of equipment," the council said.

In this regard, the Public Anti-Corruption Council demands that the Ministry of Defence:

To revise (cancel for the duration of martial law) Resolution N1450 of 20.12.2024 - to really simplify the procurement mechanism.
Allow changes to be made to the modifications (purchase individual components: batteries, antennas, modules), rather than forcing the purchase of the entire complex from scratch.
Remove restrictions that give a monopoly to a few producers and restore a competitive market.
Transfer procurement decision-making powers as close to military units as possible, instead of keeping everything "at the top".

The MOD PAC sends a request to the Ministry of Defence, the General Staff and all relevant bodies.

If we don't return the flexibility in procurement, we are in for a treat: