‘Brave France’ given EUR20m budget, plans first challenge call

Ukraine and France have agreed to fund the ‘Brave France’ joint grant programme with EUR20 million to accelerate the development of solutions that can answer Ukraine’s most pressing frontline challenges. 

The agreement, signed at Eurosatory in Paris on 16 June, moves Brave France into an “operational phase” Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov, said. 

This builds on a letter of intent signed by France’s Defence Innovation Agency and Ukraine’s Brave1 defence-tech accelerator in February, when the Brave France initiative was first announced. The organisations will commit EUR10 million each to Brave France’s grant fund. 

Each individual grant awarded to industry will be up to EUR1 million in value, Fedorov added, noting that the programme’s first challenge call is planned for September, although the topic has not yet been revealed.  

However, Fedorov has said that key focuses for Brave France will include “advanced missile technologies, unmanned systems, and next-generation aerial countermeasures.” 

Besides the challenges, the initiative will see joint hackathons organised, while also helping French companies to get their kit tested by personnel in Ukraine, through Brave1’s Test in Ukraine initiative. 

Commenting on the wider initiative’s value, Fedorov said: “Ukraine gains immediate access to battlefield-changing European technologies, while France secures a unique opportunity to adapt its defence innovations to a high-intensity modern war.” 

Brave France is part of a growing ecosystem of Brave1-linked defence collaborations on behalf of Ukraine, each seeking to accelerate innovations into military use for both Ukraine’s warfighters and the forces of countries providing it with military and diplomatic aid. 

Following the announcement of the Brave France initiative in February, Brave1 told DSEI Gateway that other countries were being considered for more partnerships, especially in Europe. 

Since then, Brave Germany and Brave Lithuania have been announced, with the former planning its first challenge before the end of 2026. 

These sit alongside the Unite Brave NATO initiative to fund joint competitions across the alliance, and the EU’s EU4UA Defence Tech initiative.