Ukrainian deputy minister lays out vision for defence tech

In an interview with Euractiv, the Ukrainian deputy minister of digital transformation on IT industry development, Oleksandr Bornyakov, laid out his vision for how the country can use defence tech innovation to boost its economy and change modern warfare.

“As an outcome of this war, we could build up to 100 Ukrainian companies valued at $100 million and maybe 10 or 20 companies could become unicorns in defence tech,” Bornyakov said.

The Ukrainian government has tried to ramp up investment into local fledgling defence tech startups, which are developing technology ranging from drones to cybersecurity software.

“The top-notch technology these companies are developing right now is going to change the course of the war forever,” he said, adding that one day Ukraine-made robots could help “Americans defend their Mexican border.”

With Ukraine’s unsuccessful counteroffensive against Russian troops last year, the country’s defence forces faced a shortage of artillery shells, and armoured vehicles, so the armed forces “started to rely on drones, robots and electronic warfare”, said Bornyakov.

At the same time, weapons deliveries from the EU and the US had been scarce over the past few months, with Washington now expected to increase arms deliveries after deal to send arms and money to Ukraine was approved one month ago.

“Only drones are allowing us to stop Russians at this point,” said Bornyakov, citing conversations with active military officers.

Ukraine’s defence tech sector benefits from the “government’s commitment to keep as many people as possible out of the danger zone,” he said. This gives companies a unique advantage to “maintain a 24/7 innovation base and adapt their products at a pace that no one else in the world can match.”

“They [the startups] end up with products that are 100% working.”

Turning the tide

At the beginning of the war, Bornyakov said, “Russians were owning the sea, now they can barely get out of the harbour” thanks to technology.

He said startups Magura and Sea Baby have significantly contributed to Ukrainian defence tech innovations that are tipping the scales on the front.

Magura’s unmanned drones were used to destroy expensive Russian warships, while an experimental Sea Baby drone was used to severely damage the Kerch bridge between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and mainland Russia.

“The whole thing may have cost between $50 million to $100 million, and we had multi-billion effects as we destroyed expensive ships and are now able to restore exports of our grain,” said Bornyakov.

The deputy minister brought up a series of examples of innovations used to boost Ukraine’s defence: Vampire heavy-lifter drones, kamikaze ARK-1 drone, used to destroy armoured vehicles; RATEL S robots carrying anti-tank mines; the ground robot Sirko-S; and Ukrainian robot Termit that can transport heavy ammunition or wounded people.

But the “majority of opportunities” are still ahead,  said the deputy minister.

Ukraine’s military drones and robots are on course to becoming some of the best among Western countries, though he said that “from time to time, we receive relatively good drones from Poland and Estonia”.

“However, we receive few drones from allied countries that are actually operational under real-world conditions in Ukraine,” he continued, explaining that most of the drones and robots supplied by Western allies still require testing and improvement.

Defence software

Ukraine developed similar solutions to Palantir’s and Clearview’s AI-powered image recognition softwares for defence purposes, said the deputy minister.

A homegrown “neural network trained with battlefield data” can “automatically map everything on the battlefield, including where the enemies are and what are the enemy intentions,” he said. According to him, Ukraine also owns homegrown software analysing satellite imagery.

Moreover, the “situation awareness system Delta has been entirely developed by Ukrainians,” he said.

Growth perspectives

To support the industry, the deputy minister pointed out that Ukraine currently has “around 15 funds specialised in investing in defence tech.” The funds are “mostly in early stages of funding, we still lack capital for funds in more mature stages,” he said.

Asked if part of the financing included in the new aid packages that Ukraine will receive from the EU (€50 billion) and the US ($61 billion) should be channeled more in the defence tech industry, Bornyakov said it will be for the government’s leadership, together with the Ministry of Defence, to decide.

“I believe these funds will be used properly because what we are most interested in is finishing this war that we did not want in the first place,” he said.

With the government and military now in agreement on the use of drones and robots, he said he was sure “that part of these funds will be allocated to defense tech.”

According to the deputy minister, governments that “value human life” will want Ukrainian technology.

As an example, he quoted Ukrainian’s early air detection systems like Delta, which could help island countries, such as Taiwan, “to get all information regarding what is flying over them”. On Thursday and Friday last week, Chinese military carried out drills near the island, in a move that Taipei condemned as pressure to the island’s government.

The same system could also be used to “reduce drug traffic,” explained Bornyakov, “as they allow us to know everything that flies at any height and identify it.”

[Eliza Gkritsi/Alexandra Brzozowski]

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