Companies such as Practika have allowed Ukraine to manufacture more than a third of its own battlefield hardware at a fraction of the cost of arms industries elsewhere in Europe. Indeed, Ukraine’s weapon-makers also provide a template—and an opportunity—for modernizing the rest of Europe’s militaries.

KYIV, Ukraine—The office of Practika, a Ukrainian company specializing in armored vehicles, is concealed behind a tall security gate that fences off an anodyne suburban building that is otherwise indistinguishable from the neighborhood’s many residential homes. But step inside and one is immediately thrust into another world: that of Ukraine’s precocious defense sector.

KYIV, Ukraine—The office of Practika, a Ukrainian company specializing in armored vehicles, is concealed behind a tall security gate that fences off an anodyne suburban building that is otherwise indistinguishable from the neighborhood’s many residential homes. But step inside and one is immediately thrust into another world: that of Ukraine’s precocious defense sector.

Companies such as Practika have allowed Ukraine to manufacture more than a third of its own battlefield hardware at a fraction of the cost of arms industries elsewhere in Europe. Indeed, Ukraine’s weapon-makers also provide a template—and an opportunity—for modernizing the rest of Europe’s militaries.

Speaking to Foreign Policy in April, Practika’s top executive, Yuliia Vysotska, presented sleek marketing literature that displays a spectacular range of military vehicles, including a mobile guard house, armored trucks, and