Ukraine’s Defence Ministry opens access to Avengers Labs platform for training defence AI

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has opened access for domestic defence companies to Avengers Labs — a platform for training artificial intelligence models for unmanned systems using real combat data. The platform was developed by the Centre for Innovation and Development of Defence Technologies, the team behind the DELTA combat management system.

The core of Avengers Labs is an annotated dataset of 5 million frames collected directly on the battlefield. Most of the material is sourced from DELTA, and the dataset is continuously updated with new operational data.

The data covers key target classes, including tanks, artillery, air defence systems, infantry, and airborne objects, such as Shahed strike drones and reconnaissance UAVs. An automated target recognition system trained on the Avengers Labs dataset has already proven its effectiveness within DELTA. Each month, it analyses more than 100,000 drone video streams, detecting 70% of enemy targets in real time. The system processes both daylight and thermal/night-vision data.

After training on Avengers Labs, AI models can operate in combat scenarios with minimal operator involvement. Stated operational profiles include autonomous terminal guidance and fully autonomous missions, where the unmanned system receives a sector of responsibility, independently acquires a target, and executes the mission according to its programmed logic.

Ukrainian defence companies, developers of unmanned and autonomous systems, as well as Ukraine’s partner nations, are eligible to gain access to the platform. The first wave of defence manufacturers has already signed licensing agreements with the Ministry of Defence to utilize Avengers Labs.

To secure access, companies must undergo a vetting process. Criteria include verifying the absence of ties to the aggressor state among owners, beneficiaries, and management, no business activities within the aggressor state, no international or Ukrainian sanctions, and no operations in temporarily occupied territories.

Following application review, companies will receive feedback detailing the next steps to access the platform’s capabilities.