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Ukraine Wants to Break China’s Thermal Sensor Grip—With Mass Production in Europe and the US
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukrainian defense technology companies The Fourth Law and Odd Systems have launched Project Foundation, a joint effort to dramatically expand production of thermal imaging sensors in Europe and the United States and reduce Western dependence on Chinese suppliers, The Fourth Law told Militarnyi on October 9.
The program aims to quadruple European production of long-wave infrared sensors over the next three years while doubling output in the US. Serial production at the new facilities is expected to begin in 2027.
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Project Foundation will focus on long-wave infrared sensors, also known as microbolometers—the key component inside thermal imaging cameras that allows users to detect heat signatures in darkness, smoke, and other low-visibility conditions. Such systems are widely used in military drones, targeting devices, reconnaissance equipment, and other battlefield platforms.
The project will be headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, one of Europe’s major semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing hubs. Production will be split between two main sites: First Foundation in Europe and Second Foundation in the United States.
The Fourth Law and @SystemsOdd have announced the launch of Project Foundation, a semiconductor initiative to mass-produce thermal imaging sensors for Ukraine, the rest of Europe and the United States.
— The Fourth Law (@thefourthlawai) October 9, 2026
The initiative covers the development of LWIR sensors and the deployment of a… pic.twitter.com/Evmq3yiHKL
The companies say the initiative is intended to give Western countries greater technological sovereignty in a sector where supply remains heavily dependent on external manufacturers, particularly China. Funding is expected to come from the founders’ own capital, private investors, government grants, and advance orders from customers.
Project Foundation has already established cooperation with leading research laboratories and major buyers of thermal imaging systems, according to the companies.
Plans for the production facility first emerged in February, when Odd Systems said the future plant could eventually manufacture as many as one million sensors annually.
Odd Systems co-founder Yaroslav Azhnyuk said the scale of Ukraine’s wartime demand illustrates how severe the shortage has become.
“Europe currently makes fewer than 500,000 such sensors a year, and Ukraine consumes that amount in about five months. Obviously, we are not consuming European sensors: they are not only about five times more expensive than Chinese ones, but often lower in quality as well. But the biggest problem is that they are almost impossible to buy because Europeans need them too,” Azhnyuk said.
Previously, UNITED24 Media explored what components are actually inside of a Russian Geran-4 jet-powered strike drone. Inside it are a British microcomputer, a Chinese jet engine, and American computer chips, showing how Russia’s drone manufacturing depends on foreign components.
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