The Ministry of Defence and UkrOboronProm will collaborate on state quality assurance

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the “Ukrainian Defence Industry” joint-stock company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance cooperation in state quality assurance.

This agreement represents a vital step toward strengthening national defense capabilities and introducing a state quality assurance system in line with NATO standards in Ukraine.

Specifically, the Memorandum sets out cooperation in the following areas:

• Establishing a state quality assurance system for defense-related goods, works, and services that is compatible with the corresponding system of NATO member states;
• Ensuring enterprises implement quality management systems compliant with NATO AQAP standards;
• Facilitating the participation of the Ministry of Defense's State Quality Assurance Department in identifying, analyzing, and assessing risks concerning defense-related goods, works, and services;
• Evaluating enterprises’ capacity to fulfill state contracts;
• Conducting audits and assessing compliance of enterprise quality management systems with state quality assurance regulatory requirements, including issuing compliance certificates.

“This Memorandum outlines a clear action plan that will enable us to elevate our armament production to a new level of quality. For the first time, Ukrainian manufacturers and the state are uniting efforts to systematically implement NATO quality standards,” stated Colonel Yevhen Krasnykov, Head of the State Quality Assurance Department.

State quality assurance focuses on evaluating the performance quality of enterprises executing state contracts. This encompasses processes such as incoming inspections, personnel management, documentation, production assets, procurement, risk management, testing, and more. 

State quality assurance is not only the responsibility of state customers and the authorized body for quality assurance, but also the defense industry's duty.

For instance, implementing state quality assurance is infeasible without an enterprise-level quality management system that complies with ISO 9000 standards. NATO’s AQAP standards are built on ISO standards. To obtain certification for compliance with NATO standards, enterprises must develop necessary documentation and designate a responsible individual to oversee the implementation of quality assurance standards and mechanisms.