The aviation industry holds the sky: Ukraine can become a technological outpost or lose another strategic sphere

Despite the war and closed airspace, the Ukrainian aviation industry remains an important element of the country’s defense capability – it modernizes equipment, develops drones, and supports combat aviation. Yarema Zhuhayevych, Head of the Trade Union of Aircraft and Machine Building Workers, spoke about why it is important to preserve human potential and highly qualified personnel in this area in an exclusive comment to UNN.

DetailsYarema Zhuhayevych, Head of the Trade Union of Aircraft and Machine Building Workers, noted that the aviation industry is one of the most preserved among industrial sectors and demonstrates a high level of qualification and effectiveness.

The aviation industry has not just survived – it holds on despite everything, even in difficult war conditions. Today, it is the core that can become the locomotive of both mechanical engineering and the entire economy of the country. Without its own production, the country will not be able to last long either (…) According to statistics, one job in the aviation industry creates 8 to 12 jobs in related sectors of the economy – from education and metallurgy to logistics and other production and service areas.

According to him, Ukrainian engineers, pilots, and aviation personnel in general are capable of performing the most complex technological tasks. However, for the further development of scientific and production resources, it is extremely important to preserve human capital and ensure state defense orders at enterprises.

These are intelligent and talented specialists who are already implementing complex technical solutions today. We have the personnel, but growth requires investment and new technologies. With such an approach, we can sharply increase production volumes (…) Now the main thing is the state defense order at enterprises in the industries.

It is worth noting that the modern aviation industry performs a much wider range of tasks than it might seem at first glance. In wartime conditions, it takes on a number of critically important functions that directly affect the state’s defense capability. This includes, in particular, the modernization of helicopters and aircraft for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, technical maintenance of aircraft, and ensuring their readiness for combat missions. An important area of work is the integration of new types of weapons, engineering support for repair and restoration processes, as well as scientific and technical activities for the development of new types of weapons – including unmanned systems.

These areas can receive a new impetus for development if the functions of aviation enterprises and their participation as residents are properly taken into account in the “Defence City” package of bills, the adoption of which is expected in the near future. The representation of the aviation industry within this regime and the provision of preferences to its enterprises will allow for the formation of a stable environment for sectoral growth, ensure the full fulfillment of defense tasks in the relevant area, preserve highly qualified personnel, and activate domestic production in the defense industry sector.

Aviation enterprises should be included in Defence City, criteria need to be softened – Hudymenko11.07.25, 09:48 • 50496 views

Defense City can give a powerful impetus to internal development. This is where we need to start – and gradually expand support to a wider range of participants. Our basic enterprises, key industries, and preserved specialists are capable, with proper support and funding, of significantly increasing production volumes and qualitatively fulfilling all strategic tasks.

In fact, the aviation industry is a large and powerful system that unites hundreds of enterprises and thousands of specialists. According to experts, the Ukrainian aviation industry provides over 20,000 highly qualified jobs. “Antonov” alone employs about 9,000 people who work in a full production cycle. In addition, a significant part of professional personnel who were involved in civil aviation and related fields before 2022 are still in Ukraine. Only in airports across the country, about 200,000 people worked then, and the annual turnover of the industry reached 2.5 billion euros. These figures confirm the scale and strategic importance of the aviation sector for the economy and security of the state.

In conclusion, it can be stated that today Ukraine faces a choice – to support the aviation industry and give it a chance for development, or to allow it to disappear from the map of strategic priorities, as has already happened with the space sector. At the same time, behind aircraft and technical solutions are people – their competencies, professionalism, and work for the benefit of the state. The preservation and development of existing potential concerns not only defense, but also the economy, employment, and post-war recovery. The industry has all the prerequisites to become one of the drivers of growth – provided that it is already included in systemic state policy through normative recognition within the Defence City regime, defense orders, and targeted support.

RecallIn the current version of the bills on Defence City, the aircraft manufacturing industry may find itself outside the scope of new benefits and preferences. As Ruslan Melnychenko, head of the legal committee of the Aerospace Association of Ukraine, explains, none of the specialized enterprises – including “Antonov” or “Motor Sich” – meet the proposed inclusion criteria, as they produce not only defense but also civilian products.

The Association proposes to include enterprises from the existing government list of aircraft manufacturing entities, which undergo strict verification, in the list of Defence City residents. Experts also insist on lowering the requirement for the share of defense products – from 90% to 50%.