Ukraine, NATO launch joint C-UAS competition

NATO and Ukraine have launched a joint competition for air defence and C-UAS solutions, with a share of EUR10 million in funding available to successful applicants. 

Announced by NATO on 26 March, this marks the first competition under the Ukraine-NATO Innovation, Technology and Engineering (UNITE) Brave NATO programme.  

A range of systems are sought for the competition, including: “advanced and affordable counter-Shahed systems”; active protection systems to counter first-person view drones; and electromagnetic attack systems.  

Speaking to DSEI Gateway in March, a representative of Ukraine’s Brave1 defence-tech accelerator, explained that “Unlike traditional grant programmes, UNITE Brave NATO is built around a matchmaking model.”  

This means that, to compete, companies from NATO countries will need to collaborate with Ukrainian counterparts – this is intended to “foster deeper connections between our innovation ecosystems”, NATO explained. 

Each collaborative project could win up to EUR1 million. 

Contracts will be awarded via the NATO Communications and Information Agency, which is coordinating the UNITE Brave NATO joint initiative. 

Those selected will have their innovations showcased at the upcoming NATO-Ukraine Defence Innovators Forum in Vilnius, Lithuania on 1-2 June.  

The spokesperson went on to explain that UNITE Brave NATO’s focus is on “advancing mature technologies [technological readiness level seven and above] into combat-ready capabilities.”  

Together, Ukraine and NATO seek to achieve this through rigorous testing of the proposed capabilities, including through battlefield validation in Ukraine as the final step in the competition process. 

Both Ukraine and NATO look to scale up future competitions under UNITE Brave NATO to EUR50 million, with the following competition areas planned: 

• Novel solutions to counter first-person view and fibre optic drones 
• High power lasers 
• Electromagnetic warfare systems 
• Signals intelligence systems 
• GPS/GNSS-denied navigation systems 
• Radio-frequency terrain navigation 
• UAS communications: 60km+ 
• Uncrewed ground vehicle communications: 15km+