{
  "id": 13123578,
  "title": "Ukraine uses up Europe’s yearly supply of thermal sensors in about five months, so two Ukrainian firms will build their own plants in the West",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/ukraine-uses-up-europes-yearly-supply-of-thermal-sensors-in-about",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-09T13:23:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euromaidan Press",
    "slug": "euromaidan-press",
    "url": "https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/10/09/ukraine-uses-up-europes-yearly-supply-of-thermal-sensors-in-about-five-months-so-two-ukrainian-firms-will-build-their-own-plants-in-the-west/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two Ukrainian defense technology companies, The Fourth Law and Odd Systems, have teamed up to manufacture thermal imaging sensors in Europe and the United States, according to The Fourth Law. The objective is to reduce Western militaries' reliance on foreign suppliers, primarily China, for the essential part of every thermal camera. As Russia intensifies its attacks, Ukrainian drone manufacturers have been relocating production to allied nations. Linza and Zoom drones are now being produced in Germany, with another leading manufacturer expanding its operations to Canada and Finland. However, the project aims to bring a core component west rather than just finished drones. The initiative, named Project Foundation, will produce long-wave infrared sensors, called microbolometers, which capture heat allowing cameras to detect individuals or vehicles at night or through smoke. The primary goal of Project Foundation is to secure the sovereignty of Western countries in the realm of thermal imaging technology. The two factories, First Foundation in Europe and Second Foundation in the US, will commence mass production in 2027, located within the Eindhoven semiconductor hub in the Netherlands. Within three years, the partners intend to increase Europe's production of these sensors fourfold and double America's output. Europe currently produces fewer than 500,000 such sensors annually, while Ukraine consumes this amount in approximately five months, as stated by Odd Systems co-founder Yaroslav Azhniuk in February. At that time, he announced plans for a plant capable of producing one million sensors per year. European sensors are approximately five times more expensive than Chinese ones and difficult to obtain due to high demand. Factories supplying Ukraine abroad have become targets of sabotage. In March, an arson attack in Pardubice, Czechia, destroyed nearly all the production capacity of a plant manufacturing drones and thermal sights for Ukraine's army. Czech investigators are investigating the possibility of a Russian connection behind the attack.",
  "summary": "Their new venture wants to give Western armies their own supply of the chip that lets thermal cameras see body heat in the dark.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euromaidan Press",
        "title": "Fought against Ukraine, now claimed to be victims: Kenya’s plea for five men held by Ukraine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fought-against-ukraine-now-claimed-to-be-victims-kenyas-plea-for-five",
        "published": "2026-10-09T12:06:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Capital FM Kenya",
        "title": "Kenya identifies more trafficking victims but convictions plunge, US report finds",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/kenya-identifies-more-trafficking-victims-but-convictions-plunge-us",
        "published": "2026-10-09T12:50:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "Kenya wants Ukraine to recognize captured African fighters as trafficking victims, not POWs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/kenya-wants-ukraine-to-recognize-captured-african-fighters-as",
        "published": "2026-10-09T13:44:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}