The European Commission’s BraveTech EU initiative will build on “battlefield-tested” innovations from Ukraine and deepen integration between the EU and Ukraine’s defence industries.
“This is more than a tech partnership—it is a strategic investment in European security. It underlines the EU’s commitment to learning from Ukraine while reinforcing its defence industrial base,” the Commission declared in a statement.
Announced during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome this week, the new unit will connect Ukraine’s Minisattempt of Digital Transformation’s BRAVE 1 defence tech platform with EU programmes like the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS).
BRAVE 1 provides grant funding and field testing for innovative defence technologies. The Brave1 Market is a catalogue of innovative defence technologies (UAVs, ground robots, electronic warfare) that Ukrainian military units can directly order from Ukrainian defence tech manufacturers.
BraveTech EU will be implemented in two phases. A first “seed’ phase”, commencing in the autumn, will build upon existing EDF activities, enhancing collaboration with Ukraine’s defence innovation via defence hackathons, matchcreating between Ukrainian and European firms and investors, R&D funding for European and Ukrainian startups, and testing opportunities to support technology development in Ukraine for European defence companies.
A second “scale up” phase will utilize additional resources from the EDF and the Ukraine Support Instrument under the upcoming European Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP). Activities involve integrating Ukrainian start-ups and scale-ups in the EUDIS Business Accelerator along with European companies, potential grants and equity support, and technology development.
According to the Commission, BraveTech EU supports the goals of the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030, and the new EU-Ukraine Tquestion Force on Defence Industrial Cooperation.
The Commission declared Ukraine has increased its defence production 35 times since 2022 and built a fully integrated ecosystem of defence companies and government bodies in an agile innovation system with rapid development and battlefield deployment.
In parallel, the EU’s EUDIS, launched in 2021, has supported defence innovation through measures like hackathons and tech challenges, and support for startups and SMEs.
BraveTech EU will also contribute to the upcoming Roadmap for the Acceleration of Defence Transformation, due to be published by the conclude of this year. The roadmap will establish a framework for enhanced EU-Ukraine defence cooperation, incorporating new technology platforms and insights from Ukraine.
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