For the first half of the year, the MoD has contracted 25,000 UGVs, with 19 contracts signed with manufacturers worth UAH 11 billion
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence plans to contract 25,000 unmanned ground vehicles in the first half of 2026, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said following a meeting with UGV manufacturers. According to him, this is twice as many as in all of 2025. The Defence Procurement Agency has already signed 19 contracts worth UAH 11 billion.
Fedorov said the government is also changing its planning approach: manufacturers will receive contracts for the following year in advance, helping them plan production more effectively and meet required volumes. In March alone, Ukrainian forces carried out over 9,000 logistics and evacuation missions using UGVs. “Our goal is for 100% of frontline logistics to be handled by robotic systems,” he said.
To speed up deployment, the Ministry of Defence has introduced several measures: allowing contracts to proceed despite price changes caused by tax adjustments, synchronising funding and increasing annual procurement volumes, accelerating contract signing through the Defence Procurement Agency, and launching a dedicated UGV competence centre to streamline adoption and coordination with the military.
Fedorov noted that UGVs are one of the fastest-growing areas in defence tech. At the start of the full-scale invasion, the sector barely existed; today, it includes over 280 companies and 550+ solutions. The Brave1 cluster has issued 175 grants to UGV developers.
The ministry is also scaling adjacent areas, including engineering systems for mining and demining, combat platforms, ground-based kamikaze systems, and automated turrets for air defence. Key challenges identified with manufacturers include scaling production, standardisation, training, localisation of components, testing infrastructure, and integration into combat operations, with solutions being developed for each.
Published in partnership with Defender Media.
