Ukraine launches tech cluster to boost military capability
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Loading... - Melissa Ajello
- 03 May 2023
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The Ukrainian government on Wednesday launched a new initiative meant to streamline and promote innovation in the development of drones and other technologies that have been critical in the war with Russia.
As part of the initiative dubbed BRAVE1, the government hopes to bring state, military, and private sector developers working on defense issues together into a tech cluster that would give Ukraine a battlefield advantage.
“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, said.
Fedorov told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s official announcement that the government had earmarked more than 100 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) to fund projects that have the potential to help Ukraine win the 14-month conflict.
“There are many people on the battlefield now of the young generation that can work with technologies, and they need them,” he said.
The name of the defense tech cluster refers to Ukraine’s bravery in the war that Russia started, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said during the presentation.
He said Ukraine is striving for independence in its military capability and BRAVE1 can be a step toward achieving it. Last week Reznikov met with defense leaders from around the globe in Germany to coordinate additional military aid to Ukraine.
“We must not be dependent on the free will of our partners,” he said. “We have to invest resources into our independence so that we can defend ourselves on our own.”
The presentation was held in an underground parking lot and featured some of the Ukrainian technologies already being used on the battlefield, such as unmanned ground vehicles, robotic systems to identify landmines and unmanned aerial systems.
Both Ukraine and Russia make frequent use of unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and in attacks. Russia extensively uses Iran’s long-range Shahed-136 exploding drones, to damage Ukrainian power plants and instill fear in civilians. The Ukrainian government launched a public fundraising drive last year asking foreign donors to help it build an “army of drones.” Read More…
