KYIV. March 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) aims at providing for the practical implementation of the project on the creation of the Cyclone 4 medium class rocket launcher with a new foreign partner instead of Brazil which left the project in 2015 at its final stage. The agency is working on several options of partnership under the project, acting Head of SSAU Yuriy Radchenko has said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Recently gossips appeared that the Cyclone 4 is the unpromising rocket. According to our opinion, it has the serious prospect and it is of demand on the international market: today we are working on at least three options of cooperation with foreign partners under the Cyclone 4 project,” Radchenko said.
“I think soon, in March-April, we will have an interim result of the discussion of the prospects of signing contracts with foreign partners under the program,” he said.
He did not specify the cooperation plans, adding that North America and the Middle East countries show their interest to the potential of the Cyclone 4 rocket.
“There are proposals to create the launcher in one of Arab countries. It is a serious proposal. We held negotiations during the international space forum in Abu-Dhabi on February 1 and February 2. There are plans to sign a cooperation agreement in April,” Radchenko said.
Commenting on the possibility of compensation of losses by Brazil over the unilateral termination of 10 year cooperation under the Cyclone 4 project to Ukraine raised in the political circles and Brazilian media, Radchenko said that at present the parties are holding talks on the quick return of Ukrainian equipment supplied under the project. The equipment is on the balance of the Ukrainian-Brazil JV that was realizing the project.
“I think it is early to discuss the compensation of losses until the assets on the balance of the JV are divided legally,” he said.
