Report: UK analyzing Russian weapons, equipment captured in Ukraine

The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it is studying some of the Russian weapons and equipment captured or abandoned in Ukraine.

The information was shared during a British Army event ahead of the release of the country’s new Defense Command Paper (DCP23) about the future plans of the UK armed forces.

According to the ministry, Britain is conducting foreign materiel exploitation (FME) using Russian defense items seized in Kyiv.

Moscow’s armored vehicles are reportedly a particular focus of the program.

“It’s really important because we’re in a club of nations that when we get hold of Russian kit or other nations’ kit that might be a danger to us in the future, we share that knowledge,” UK Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin told reporters.

Results of the FME are expected to help the UK, the US, and other allied nations in developing effective countermeasures against Russian threats.

‘A Battle Laboratory’

The DCP23 notes that to stay ahead of threats and gain strategic advantage on the battlefield, Western nations should explore “novel and creative” means to develop state-of-the-art weapon systems.

Forces should exploit technologies such as unmanned aerial systems to bolster their defense capabilities.

With the increasing number of Russian weapons captured in Ukraine, Radakin believes that the war-torn nation is now becoming a “battle laboratory” for experimenting with new technologies to address emerging threats.

“We also have the scientists that unpick the detail that another nation might have to a really forensic level, and that helps us to understand: how does their equipment work? How can we defeat it? How can we have even better armor? How can we disrupt their communications? How can we ensure that we can penetrate their defenses?” he said.

The British official did not mention specific weapons and equipment being analyzed by the UK Ministry of Defence.

However, it was previously reported that Kyiv’s forces seized Moscow’s DT-30 Vityaz all-terrain articulated tracked personnel carrier, as well as T-62 and T-80 tanks.