Ukraine’s Defence Ministry Opens Military Technologies for Licensing to Manufacturers
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has approved eight technologies developed by military personnel within the defence ministry for licensing. Ukrainian manufacturers will be able to obtain the right to use them, establish the production of defence goods, and supply them to the Defence Forces. This is a mechanism intended to shorten the path from a military development to serial production. The technologies have already been created and have practical value, but scaling them requires the production capacities of the defence industry.
Time for Action examined how the licensing process will work and what opportunities it opens for the state, manufacturers, and the Defence Forces. Among the technologies available for licensing, the Ministry of Defence has named:
- the Octopus interceptor drone;
- a guided munition;
- the Vitriak drone detector;
- communication, control, and terminal guidance systems for unmanned systems and unmanned ground vehicles.
The right to use these developments will be granted to manufacturers within an experimental project approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1310. After obtaining a licence, companies will be able to use the relevant technologies to manufacture defence products. This approach changes the usual model of cooperation between the state and the defence industry. The Ministry of Defence is not limiting itself to creating a development within the ministry, but is opening the possibility of transferring it to companies capable of ensuring serial production.
A separate section describing the available technologies is already operating on the Brave1 portal. An automated system for submitting notifications of interest in using the developments has also been created there. Submitting such a notification is a mandatory condition for participation in the experimental project. Due to security requirements, the relevant functionality is located in the closed section of the portal. All applications submitted by manufacturers are processed by the Ministry of Defence. To obtain the right to use a technology, a manufacturer must submit a notification of interest, provide documents confirming compliance with the criteria of the experimental project, and, after completing the procedure, conclude an agreement with the Ministry of Defence. Companies may also review the technical documentation before signing the main agreement. To do so, they must conclude a non-disclosure agreement with the developer.
After reviewing the documentation, the manufacturer must submit another notification of interest. This opens the opportunity to proceed to the conclusion of an agreement and the practical use of the technology. The mechanism has already produced its first results. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Ministry of Defence granted manufacturers 30 licences to use technologies created by military personnel within the ministry. The new list of eight developments continues this practice.
For the Defence Forces, this model may mean faster delivery of the necessary equipment. A military development will not remain a separate prototype or limited project if a private manufacturer can establish its serial production. For companies, this opens access to technologies that have already been created, reduces the time required for independent development, and provides an opportunity to work with solutions that emerged directly from military needs. For the state, licensing creates the possibility of using the production potential of several companies instead of depending on a single developer or enterprise. This may accelerate production, increase supply volumes, and distribute the manufacturing workload. At the same time, restricted access to documentation, non-disclosure agreements, and manufacturer verification are intended to reduce the risks of sensitive information leaks. For defence technologies, this is a fundamental condition, since expanding production must not weaken control over the developments.
The main opportunity created by this mechanism is to turn military technologies into serial products without waiting for the state to independently build all the necessary production capacities. If licensing operates systematically, the Ministry of Defence will be able to transfer promising developments to companies more quickly, manufacturers will be able to launch their production, and the Defence Forces will receive more drones, detectors, munitions, communication systems, and control systems. As a result, Ukraine receives not only individual new weapons systems, but also a practical mechanism for scaling military innovation. The ability to move developments rapidly into serial production may become one of the key advantages of Ukraine’s defence industry.
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