The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has introduced a unified procedure and clear rules for working with international partners to develop defense innovations – Brave International.
"This decision applies to previously announced and future international initiatives, including UNITE Brave NATO, Brave Norway, Brave France, Brave Germany, and Brave Lithuania. It gives the 'green light' for the rapid launch of joint grant competitions within the framework of these programs," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
According to her, not only Ukrainian companies but also developers and startups from foreign jurisdictions will be able to participate in these programs.
The total budget for the first international programs and support instruments under Brave International already exceeds EUR 100 million.
The Brave International initiative has three key objectives: identifying new technologies and products to meet the current needs of the Ukrainian front; attracting additional funding to support Ukrainian defense startups; deepening cooperation with partners’ innovation ecosystems and further integrating Ukrainian defense tech into the global defense technology market.
The Prime Minister said the Brave International program provides for the creation of joint grant funds based on equal contributions from Ukraine and the partner country, as well as parity-based supervisory boards and expert commissions to ensure transparent review and professional evaluation of applications. Applications are open to both Ukrainian applicants and foreign companies. The program requires mandatory testing and verification of all developments in Ukraine on the existing Test in Ukraine platform.
"Thanks to the established procedure, the Brave1 defense technology cluster will launch its first joint international competitions in the very near future," Svyrydenko said.
