French defence tech company Alta Ares to invest €10m in Ukraine and triple local team in 2026

French defence tech company Alta Ares will invest one-fifth of the €50 million it raised in June into expanding its operations in Ukraine. Co-founder and CEO Hadrien Canter revealed the plans in an interview with Defender Media.

The funding will be used to expand the company’s Ukrainian engineering team and scale up interceptor drone production. Alta Ares operates a software development office in Ukraine and one of its manufacturing facilities, where it produces its drones.

The company’s Ukrainian team currently consists of around 20 engineers. According to Canter, Alta Ares plans to triple that number by the end of 2026.

Alta Ares also operates production facilities in France and the Middle East. According to the company’s CEO, another factory will soon open in an EU country.

Alta Ares develops both software and hardware solutions for countering drones, including terminal guidance systems and its own interceptor drones. According to Canter, around 10 Ukrainian interceptor drone manufacturers already use the company’s software. By the end of the year, Alta Ares expects to double the number of its Ukrainian customers.

Among Alta Ares’ Ukrainian partners, Canter highlighted Fire Point. “Our Ukrainian teams are already working together on several projects, but they remain confidential,” he said. The company also plans to establish several joint ventures with Ukrainian manufacturers by the end of the year.