Government and Brave1 launch grant competitions for radars, turbojet engines and air-to-air guided missiles

The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Brave1 state cluster have launched a new grant competition for developing air-to-air guided missiles, turbojet engines and domestically made radars. Government and Brave1 representatives announced the competitions to defence tech companies at a closed meeting.

Under the programme, manufacturers can receive up to UAH 75 million to develop air-to-air guided missiles and up to UAH 100 million to create Ukrainian radars.

“The aim of the new competitions is to provide the Security and Defence Forces with effective means of countering aerial targets, reduce the cost of intercepting jet-powered drones, and develop the production of radars and turbojet engines in Ukraine,” said Ukraine’s Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara.

More details on the technologies covered by the Brave1 grant programme:

• Modern Ukrainian radars capable of detecting jet-powered drones and other aerial threats early. Key parameters include detection range and altitude. The competition’s organisers say that having enough of these radars will help build a layered defence system and make intercepting enemy aerial assets more effective.
• Air-to-air guided missiles, including ones that can be launched from UAVs. The aim is to counter jet-powered drones effectively without risking pilots’ lives while also making interception cheaper.
• Turbojet engines. The organisers call them a key component of jet-powered strike weapons. One main focus is production cost.

Minister of Digital Transformation Oksana Ferchuk noted that in the first 10 months of 2026 Brave1 issued almost 300 grants, more than in the whole of the previous year. The 2027 budget provides for 36% more funding for developing defence technologies through Brave1 than the previous year’s budget.

The cluster reminds applicants that grant competitions make it possible to secure considerably larger amounts of funding for developing and/or scaling technologies than regular Brave1 grants. The key requirement is to develop front-ready products according to a clear technical specification.

Applications are submitted through a special module of the Prozorro system for the first time. The organisers say this will help keep participants’ information confidential.

Access to the detailed terms of the competitions is granted after a compliance check and signing an NDA. The application deadline is 5 November inclusive.