Ukraine orders 25,000 ground robots — more than double last year’s total

Ukraine plans to contract 25,000 unmanned ground systems (UGVs), which will be gradually delivered to frontline units in the first half of 2026. This is more than double the total volume for 2025 and indicates rapid sectoral scaling, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says.

According to the minister, the strategic goal is to fully transition frontline logistics to robotic systems. In March alone, Ukrainian forces carried out more than 9,000 such missions.

Contracts, billions, and acceleration without bureaucracy

To implement this strategy, the government has significantly restructured procurement mechanisms. The Defense Procurement Agency has already signed 19 contracts worth $268 million.

One of the key barriers was taxation: some UGVs became subject to VAT, which led to price revisions and delays. In response, the Ministry of Defense allowed contracting to proceed even amid price changes — a decision that prevented supply disruptions.

At the same time, funding has been synchronized, annual procurement volumes increased, and contract procedures accelerated. A dedicated UGV competence center has also been established to coordinate interaction between the military, the General Staff, and manufacturers.

A separate focus is long-term planning. Manufacturers will begin receiving contracts for 2027 already this year, enabling production forecasting and reducing the risk of supply chain disruptions.

Explosive growth in defense tech and focus on scale

Ground robotics has become one of the fastest-growing segments of Ukraine’s defense technology market. At the start of the full-scale war, this niche was virtually nonexistent. And today it has evolved into a distinct industry.

Within the Brave1 cluster, more than 280 companies are already operating and have developed over 550 solutions. A total of 175 grants have been issued to support technological development.

Beyond logistics platforms, several other areas are actively advancing:

• engineering systems for mining and demining
• combat ground drones
• kamikaze platforms
• automated turrets for countering aerial threats

The core principle behind this ecosystem is scalability and cost-efficiency. The focus is not on a small number of expensive systems, but on deploying large volumes of effective solutions that can be rapidly scaled on the battlefield.