Ukraine’s defence ministry has announced the Ukrainian Brave1 procurement programme and NATO have opened applications for their first joint innovation programme, UNITE – Brave NATO, featuring drones and counter-UAS (C-UAS) technology.
“It is the first joint innovation grant program designed to bring together Ukrainian defense companies and companies from NATO member states to develop cutting-edge technologies for the battlefield,” says the ministry. “The first call focuses on developing counter-UAV technologies and strengthening air defence capabilities and for the first time will be administered through Ukraine’s Prozorro platform.
Funding of up to EUR250,000 or EUR500,000 per partner will be available for joint projects in the following areas:
- Active Protection Systems against FPV Drones;
- Advanced and Affordable Counter-Shahed Systems;
- Electromagnetic Support for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT);
- Electromagnetic Attack (EA) technology against FPV drones;
- High-Altitude Platforms.
The program is open to joint teams consisting of one Ukrainian company and one company from a NATO member state.
The selection process consists of two stages. The first stage, Expression of Interest, is a qualification review to verify that applicants meet the program’s eligibility requirements, says the ministry. The Expression of Interest must be submitted by the Ukrainian partner on behalf of both organizations. Applications for this stage will be accepted for five business days from the date of the official announcement. The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is August 3. Applications submitted after the deadline or in paper form will not be considered.
During the second stage, qualified teams will submit full joint grant proposals.
The program is expected to support technologies through to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8, with all selected solutions undergoing mandatory validation through the TEST in UKRAINE platform.
The full program regulations, eligibility requirements, and application details are available here: https://prozorro.gov.ua/uk/framework/UA-F-2026-07-28-000001
The programme was officially announced on 25 November 2025. On the Ukrainian side it is coordinated by the Brave1 defense innovations cluster, while on the NATO side the first call is being run by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA).
If the pilot call proves successful, the two sides plan to scale the programme up: funding for UNITE – Brave NATO could rise to EUR50 million to support new joint defence projects and deepen technological cooperation between Ukraine and Alliance member states.
For more information
https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/unite-brave-nato-applications-open-for-the-first-joint-ukraine-nato-innovation-grant-program