(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Applications have opened for technology competitions under the European Union’s flagship grant programme BraveTech EU. The competitions, called DefTech Forges, are aimed at defence companies.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence announced the opening.
The competitions are a series of offline events for selected defence startups. They will compete for grants worth €120,000, equal to $130,000 or £102,000. Winners can also access further funding of up to €750,000, equal to $811,000 or £638,000.
“Both Ukrainian manufacturers and companies from European Union countries that produce defence and dual use technologies with a technology readiness level of TRL 4 or higher can apply,” the ministry said in a statement.
The main goal of the grant programme is to find and fund new technological solutions for the needs of the Ukrainian front line and to strengthen the European defence system.
Applications will be accepted until 6 September.
An independent expert group of military and technical mentors will select the 40 best solutions. Participants will be divided into two groups of 20 teams for two offline DefTech Forges events. The events are expected to take place around 9 to 13 November in Germany and Romania.
Manufacturers will be able to test their technologies in practice and receive direct feedback from military personnel.
Six winners, three at each event, will receive grants worth €120,000 each. That is equal to $130,000 or £102,000 per grant.
Those teams will then have a path to further testing with the European Defence Agency and a grant of up to €750,000. That is equal to $811,000 or £638,000.
The DefTech Forges competitions will feature five technology challenges.
The first covers software and hardware systems for missile and drone guidance. That includes multi mode guidance, whether passive, semi active or active, to ensure effective target engagement in different conditions.
The second covers autonomous strike drones. That includes smart kamikaze munitions, FPV platforms and decentralised swarm coordination with minimal operator involvement.
The third covers modular drone systems. That includes rapid payload changes and operational mission reconfiguration.
The fourth covers detection tools. That includes sensors and sensor complexes.
The fifth covers drone platforms and flight controllers resistant to electronic warfare.
After applications close, Brave1 will join the evaluation process. Its leading experts will also sit on the jury during testing in Germany and Romania.
The BraveTech EU grant programme is funded by the European Commission with support from Brave1 and the European Defence Agency.
Detailed competition terms and the application form are available on the BraveTech EU portal.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has also opened access for Ukrainian defence companies to the Avengers Labs platform. There they will train artificial intelligence models for unmanned systems based on real battlefield data.