BLUF:
Joint production ventures between Ukrainian and European defense-tech companies are intended to give Ukrainian companies funding, facilities, and workforce – while giving European companies access to battlefield expertise and new technologies.
Successful examples such as Quantum Tencore Industries show that joint ventures can work. But Ukraine’s export control regime, unfamiliar bureaucracies and differences in operating speed mean successful partnerships remain rare.
Ukrainian efforts to counter Russian jet-powered Shaheds took a step forward after defense tech company Wild Hornets on Saturday presented its Sting S jet-powered interceptor — which already successfully destroyed Geran-4s and Geran-5 drones — and President Zelenskyy published videos of an unnamed interceptor drone over the weekend.
The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance will work on scaling production and securing supply chains as part of efforts to create a joint Ukrainian-European drone market.
Military servicemen are experimenting with aerostats as an alternative system to strengthen air defense, launching drone interceptors and lifting EW systems to the required altitude to counter Russian drones.
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Joint ventures promise scale and speed. Here are the barriers that stand in the way
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1. What is preventing Ukraine from countering jet-powered drones
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By: Oksana Zabolotna
MoD Department for Weapons Systems and Technology Development
MoD Order № 297 dated August 20, 2026
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Andrii Kushniarov has recently become UGV policy and capability development consultant at Ukraine’s MoD.
Anastasiia Kharkina has recently become marketing and operations associate at Invest in Bravery, an organisation for matching defense tech startups with international investors.
Anastasiia Opryshchenko has left the position of communications specialist at Tech Force in UA.
Vyriy Industries, a Ukrainian drone company, is looking for an internal communications manager.
Kyiv Dynamics is a Ukrainian defense tech company founded by Anton Kolomiichuk and Nikita Burtan, which creates software to automate UGV missions. The software allows one operator to control multiple UGVs of different types. Automating UGVs is also intended to make them more resilient to EW and boost mission-completion rates.
The software was proven on a real robot, reaching TRL5. The technology has received positive validation from UGV operators, manufacturers, military instructors and senior military experts. Kyiv Dynamics is already partnering with UGV manufacturing companies and planning real-world testing in Ukraine. "We're currently looking for early-stage investors and additional UGV manufacturing partners to accelerate testing, integration and deployment," Kolomiichuk, co-founder and technical lead of Kyiv Dynamics, said. The company aims to deploy the technology on the battlefield still this year.
The Defense Procurement Agency DOT has begun procuring FPV drones based on specific technical characteristics rather than model names, according to Ukraine’s MoD. The procurement has been divided into 269 lots based on characteristics, including frame size, autopilot capability, communication type, camera type, video-transmitter frequency and signal-receiver frequency. Under the new rules, a single bidder may not account for more than 50 percent of the total procurement volume.
The Ukrainian military has received more than 1 million drones and other pieces of equipment through the DOT-Chain Defense marketplace since the beginning of the year, according to data released last week. The system allows military personnel to choose the drones and equipment they need, while the government handles funding and administrative procedures. Equipment worth approximately $1.7 billion (71.1 billion UAH) has been delivered through the system.
Myriad and Final Frontier, two Danish VCs, this week announced they’re planning to raise €100 million to invest in early-stage defense tech in Nordics countries and Ukraine, Niels Vejrup Carlsen, one of the GPs for Final Frontier Fund II, told The Arsenal. Their previous funds raised €2 million and €4.5 million, respectively. Final Frontier Fund II aims to invest in more than 20 companies, including a first close by the end of the year.
The private air-defense project launched by Ukraine’s MoD in late 2025 already includes 81 companies, the ministry announced last week, up from 51 in July. Companies from various sectors, including critical infrastructure facilities and private enterprises in high-risk areas, have joined the project. It allows companies to deploy private mobile fire teams at their facilities to protect them from drone threats. You can read more about how it works here.
Ukrainian company Rise Technologies has developed the PALYCH digital communication system for drones, designed for use in environments with active electronic warfare and a congested radio spectrum, the Ukrainian Council of Defense Industries told The Arsenal. Feedback from military personnel who have used PALYCH indicates that the system can extend the operational life of drones on the front lines by six to eight months. The system can adapt to changing conditions and interference.
Molfar Intelligence, a Ukrainian intelligence firm, is launching Minos, a platform designed to help users detect information attacks early, assess the risks and respond. It is intended for defense manufacturers and their suppliers, government agencies, financial institutions, and businesses operating in competitive or sensitive markets, the company told The Arsenal.
The Estonian-Ukrainian company DOD Solutions has entered into a strategic partnership with the German-Ukrainian drone company United Unmanned Systems (UUS), DOD Solutions told The Arsenal. The partnership aims to integrate the AURA AI onboard navigation and situational awareness system into various types of UUS drones. Both technologies have already been deployed separately in combat in Ukraine, and their joint integration is now undergoing testing.
