Ukraine’s Brave1, EU launch five defence tech competitions

The EU and Ukraine’s Brave1 defence-tech accelerator have launched five new competitions, to identify a range of technologies that can aid Ukraine’s military and strengthen wider European defence capabilities. 

Announced on 10 August by the EU, the competitions – known as the ‘DefTech Forges’ – fall under the BraveTechEU programme, an initiative created in July 2025 to foster defence industry collaboration between the EU and Ukraine. 

The new competitions mark the second edition of the DefTech Forges and are open to both EU and Ukrainian startups. 

According to Brave1, the newly announced set of DefTech Forge competitions cover the following themes:  

• Autonomous strike UAVs (loitering munitions, first person view platforms, and swarming coordination) 
• Detection systems (sensors and sensor networks) 
• Electronic warfare-resilient UAV platforms and flight controllers 
• Modular UAV systems 
• Multi-mode guidance systems for missiles and UAVs  

This second edition of the DefTech Forges is being implemented by three businesses that combine technical military expertise with defence-investment experience: Civitta, Darkstar, and Starburst Accelerator. 

Application process 

Once received, applications for the competitions will be sifted by “an independent panel of military and technical mentors”, Brave1 says. The panel will then down-select 40 companies to progress to a testing phase. 

Those progressing will be split into two groups. Each group will then attend one of two in-person field testing events in Germany and Romania between 9-13 November. 

During these events, Brave1 says that the participating companies will “test their technologies in practice and receive direct feedback from military users.” 

Six companies – three from each group – will then be awarded grants of EUR120,000 each. 

Following these grants, the winning companies will be eligible to continue testing their equipment with the European Defence Agency, competing for up to EUR750,000 in grants to further develop and scale their technologies, Brave1 explained. 

The deadline to apply for the competitions is 6 September.