BraveTech EU is designed to help align the E.U. and Ukrainian defense innovation ecosystems, promote regulatory best practices, and foster co-development of cutting-edge technologies with fast-track deployment capabilities
The European Commission and Ukraine have unveiled ‘BraveTech EU’, a joint effort to accelerate defense innovation by leveraging battlefield-tested technologies from Ukraine and strengthening defense capabilities across Europe.
Announced during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, BraveTech EU marks a strategic alliance between the European Union (E.U.) and Ukraine to deepen integration of their defence industries. The initiative aims to foster joint research, rapid testing, and innovation through partnerships between European and Ukrainian companies, with a special focus on startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The initiative supports the objectives of the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030 and aligns with the work of the newly established E.U.-Ukraine Task Force on Defence Industrial Cooperation. It will connect Ukraine’s BRAVE1 defence tech platform, spearheaded by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, with European initiatives such as the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS).
Taking it to X, the European Commissioner for Defense and Space – Andrius Kubilius posted,
Together with Ukraine, we are announcing #BraveTechEU
— Andrius Kubilius (@KubiliusA) July 11, 2025
initiative – unique framework for 🇪🇺🇺🇦 industries that will help accelerate defence innovation through close cooperation.
🔴 live press point with 🇺🇦 Vice Prime Minister @FedorovMykhailo ⬇️
https://t.co/stZbKG37sh pic.twitter.com/dhOnEKmWbQ
He further posted,
#BraveTechEU is a strategic step that will tap into Ukraine’s innovative potential, contribute to European resilience and development of new defence systems.
— Andrius Kubilius (@KubiliusA) July 11, 2025
Learn more ⬇️https://t.co/ZtohoeeebO
BraveTech EU is designed to help align the E.U. and Ukrainian defense innovation ecosystems, promote regulatory best practices, and foster co-development of cutting-edge technologies with fast-track deployment capabilities.
BraveTech EU will roll out in two phases. The Phase I is the Seed Phase which will focus on building partnerships and piloting activities. It will include Ukraine-focused defence hackathons, matchmaking events for startups and investors, joint R&D funding, and testing platforms to accelerate technology development. The Phase II is the Scale-Up Phase, which will expand the scope and funding of initial activities using resources from the EDF and the Ukraine Support Instrument (USI) under the upcoming European Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP). This phase aims to integrate Ukrainian scale-ups into the EUDIS Business Accelerator, providing additional grant and equity support.
Initial funding for BraveTech EU includes € 50 million from the EDF/EUDIS, matched by € 50 million from the Ukrainian Government, demonstrating strong bilateral commitment.
Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has shown remarkable resilience and demonstrated an outstanding ability to transform ground-breaking innovation into fighting capabilities. Indeed, Ukraine has increased its defence production by 35 times since 2022 and built a fully integrated ecosystem of defence companies and government bodies in an agile innovation system with fast development and battlefield deployment.
