Ukraine now builds far more weapons than it can afford to buy. A year ago, it promised to sell the surplus abroad and turn the proceeds back into its own army. However, 12 months later, that promise has barely materialized: a state fee of up to 30% is pricing Ukrainian arms out of foreign markets, and no one can say how much the army has actually gained, said Ihor Fedirko, executive director of the Ukrainian Council of Armorers.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resumption of controlled weapons exports in October 2025, resting it on four promises: 1) sell what Ukraine makes beyond its own needs, 2) channel part of the proceeds into a special fund for the army, 3) open export offices in Europe and the US, and 4) establish joint ventures abroad.
The surplus is real: Ukraine's defense output is projected to reach $55 billion in 2026, far beyond what the state can finance. A year on, Fedirko checked each promise in turn.
On 1 July 2026, the government approved rules for controlled arms exports. They shortened the maximum application review period from 90 to 30 days, but also introduced an export fee: 20% for finished products and technologies, and 30% for components. For finished products exported under the special procedure, the contract value must be at least $334,000.
In September, the Ukrainian Council of Armorers, together with other associations, proposed a zero rate, no advance collection of the fee, refunds for deals that fall through, and simplified test shipments. The industry was promised that its amendments would be taken into account and that the resolution would be rewritten.
Even in early October, however, the rules still needed work. According to Fedirko, the new mechanism has effectively not started working. Whether it can bring in additional funds for defense depends on how acceptable the export terms are to manufacturers.
Fedirko says, though, that judging by current decisions, the state intends to keep the export fee.
“The industry is ready to discuss its contribution to defense financing. But the rate must be economically justified,” he says.
He adds that the Ukrainian Council of Armorers intends to push for a rate significantly lower than 20%, one that would let companies fulfill contracts and invest in production.
With such high rates, Fedirko says, the competitiveness of Ukrainian weapons on foreign markets is in question, as is the ability to send even small test batches to potential buyers.
“The fundamental requirement is post-payment: after the contract has actually been fulfilled and the manufacturer has been paid. A company should not pay the state in advance a share of income it has not yet received,” he says.
He added that, given all this, the real export figures remain unclear, as does how much exports have actually brought the military.
“The military and manufacturers must feel the benefit of exports. I sincerely hope that next year will bring much better results,” he says.
In addition, on 12 October, the Ukrainian Parliament passed bill No. 15400 in the first reading. It provides for crediting the export fee to a special fund directed to the Ministry of Defense: 50% for the procurement, modernization, and repair of weapons and equipment, and 50% for the pay of Armed Forces personnel.
The bill has not yet been adopted, but Fedirko says he expects “final adoption and launch of the mechanism.”
On 3 November, the Ukrainian government named the first cities for export offices: Berlin and Copenhagen. On 15 December, it again spoke of preparing an office in Berlin. In reality, Fedirko says he does not know the office’s status, and it likewise remains unclear how companies can apply to it and how many contracts it has helped close.
According to Fedirko, eight joint ventures have been created, five of which are already supplying products to Ukraine. He stresses that this is the result of work by Ukrainian companies, foreign partners and the state, and that it deserves recognition.
As early as February 2026, the authorities spoke of plans to create ten joint ventures in Europe within a year. At the same time, they announced Quantum Frontline Industries in Germany, with a planned annual capacity of 10,000 drones for Kyiv.
Beyond the number of ventures and deliveries, however, it is important to understand how other manufacturers can join the Build with Ukraine program.
“Who accepts applications, by what criteria are decisions made, and what support does a company receive?” Fedirko asks.
In other words, joint ventures are already delivering results, but the rules of participation and the state support mechanism must be clear to companies that want to develop production abroad.
Iceland’s telecoms regulator commenced a process which could boost local and private 5G network deployments by a host of industries and align the nation with broader global rollouts.
Fjarskiptastofa opened a consultation into allocating spectrum in the 3800MHz to 4200MHz frequency band, one which is widely regarded as ideal for local area networks where capacity matters.
The regulator listed factories, ports and utilities among businesses which could benefit from access to all or some of the spectrum, which it noted is also suitable for delivering fixed wireless access services.
It proposes providing two tiers of licences, one for low-power deployments and another for medium.
Fjarskiptastofa explained low-power settings would be confined within a 50-metre radius, with multiple transmitters allowed.
Medium-range deployments would be “limited to a specific transmission location”.
The regulator proposes licences spanning 20MHz, 40MHz, 60MHz, 80MHz and 100MHz of bandwidth, with the latter the maximum for each permit.
Licences would be valid for a decade and holders would be required to launch services within a year of receiving clearance.
Fjarskiptastofa’s consultation runs until 10 November, after which it intends to publish all comments not covered by confidentiality requests.
The band covered is already popular for private 5G services: in 2025, the European Union called for member states to harmonise access, arguing there are broad benefits for industrial and non-industrial players.
But there are concerns the harmonised approach in the region may not be the panacea it first seems: in 2022, the GSMA expressed concern some member states could favour specific systems and so constrain the market.
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The US Commerce Department awarded $389 million in R&D funding to four companies working on semiconductor development, under the government’s CHIPS and Science Act.
In a statement, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick explained the funding “will accelerate American semiconductor innovation to enhance our domestic energy and power resources”.
As a condition of the close to $400 million outlay, the US government will receive minority, non-controlling and non-equity stakes in the four companies.
Washington-based Helion, which develops high-voltage power semiconductors and advanced energy power modules, will receive the biggest investment at $175 million.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems is in line for an $85 million investment, which it will use to develop semiconductor technologies for robotic maintenance.
Meanwhile, Vertical Semiconductors will get $73 million for its work across AI data centre racks and Sibelco North America will receive $56 million.
Bill Frauenhofer, executive director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation at the Commerce Department added: “Accelerating domestic R&D across these technologies will strengthen America’s ability to convert and deliver power for the grid, advanced data centres, defence systems, and emerging fusion energy.”
Reuters reported the Commerce Department has awarded a total of 19 R&D grants to semiconductor companies, as part of the $10 billion fund under the CHIPS and Science Act approved by the government in 2022.
The post US pumps $400M into semiconductor R&D appeared first on Mobile World Live.
In a government office, researchers of drones and electronic warfare gather around a small metal device recovered from a Russian Geran drone. Its purpose — to measure the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation.
"This is the most recent component we found, about a week or two
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