Ukrainian drone manufacturers have their own marketplace. How it will work
8 April 09:42
The State Logistics Operator, a procurement agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, has presented a demo version of DOT-Chain Defense, an IT system that aims to improve the supply of the military at the front, to manufacturers of unmanned systems. This was reported in the agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs.
The system will operate to provide military units with unmanned aerial vehicles, ground robotic systems, electronic warfare and electronic warfare equipment.
The system will operate in the format of a “marketplace” where military units will be able to choose the types and quantity of equipment they need. Thus, the provision of unmanned systems to the military will become more efficient, more targeted and functionally relevant.
“DOT-Chain Defense will allow units to order the necessary equipment directly. Businesses in this model receive not only orders, but also a clear understanding of demand and direct feedback from the military – this is a new quality of communication in the defense sector,” explained Kateryna Chernogorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization.
Manufacturers of weapons and military equipment were presented with the system’s functionality, given the opportunity to personally test it and get answers to their questions.
How the drone ordering system works now
At the office of the IT department of the State Logistics Operator, where the DOT-Chain Defense platform was presented to media representatives a few days ago, it was explained that when a military unit needs a drone, its representative calls his contacts at the Logistics Forces Command, the General Staff, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, etc. That is, there is no process of constantly placing drone orders and closing them.
The military unit now forms its needs in an Excel spreadsheet and sends it along with a letter to the operational and territorial, and then to the operational and strategic directorate.
How the DOT-Chain Defense platform will work
Volodymyr Chuhai, Head of Product Management at DOT-Chain, demonstrated the process of ordering products to journalists. According to him, as cited by AIN, an authorized representative of a military unit selects the necessary products in the catalog on the platform, adds them to the cart and specifies the quantity. To finalize the order, he adds his electronic signature and the application receives the status of “signed”. This is a signal to the Defense Procurement Agency that the request can be processed. The system first checks whether the unit has enough funds to purchase the selected item. If the agency has any questions, they can return the request to the military unit for editing.
The DOT-Chain Defense provides for an annual application and periodic updates to synchronize the real needs of the military unit with those indicated in the report card and adjust them at the central level. This was stated by Alyona Zhuzha, IT advisor at the State Logistics Operator.
“The order is made according to what is contracted by the state. If a unit needs equipment that has not yet been contracted, it can apply for it at the stage of placing an annual order. According to Aliona Zhuzha, the platform’s catalog will contain only codified goods. Currently, it contains several hundred drone models from more than 200 suppliers. For a manufacturer to be included in this assortment, they need to codify their product. After that, the catalog is updated. But for a military unit to order this product, the manufacturer must sign an agreement with the Defense Procurement Agency based on an annual order.
How many drones does the Ministry of Defense plan to purchase?
In 2024, the Ministry of Defense, together with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, purchased more than 1.5 million drones.
“This year, the capacity of the domestic defense industry is approximately 4.5 million FPV drones, and the Ministry of Defense plans to purchase all of them,” said Hlib Kanevskyi, Director of the Procurement Policy Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
In 2025, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine will allocate more than UAH 110 billion for the purchase of drones, including more than UAH 102 billion through the Defense Procurement Agency. It was reported that all procurement plans for 2025 have received budget funding.
