The Ministry of Digital Transformation wants to more actively translate Ukrainian DefenseTech technologies into civilian applications. The new head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Oksana Ferchuk, considers dual-use to be one of the key areas for the future of the Ukrainian economy.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation wants to more actively translate Ukrainian DefenseTech technologies into civilian applications. The new head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Oksana Ferchuk, considers dual-use to be one of the key areas for the future of the Ukrainian economy.
She said this in an interview with Forbes.
According to Ferchuk, the issue is especially relevant for defense companies, which during the war grew teams of engineers, developed their own technologies, and established production. After the war, part of this market will have to look for new areas of application.
«Defense companies are asking the question: if the war stops, where will we put our specialists? The logical answer is dual-use,» said Ferchuk.
She cited as an example ground-based robotic complexes, which can be used not only in military operations.
«Some are already coming up with examples of what can be done. For example, using NRCs to extinguish fires. We know all the more about the risk of repeated ballistic strikes,» the minister noted.
Ferchuk believes that the state should help defense technologies find civilian use scenarios.
«My job is to roll out civilian uses for defense products. This is an opportunity for the economy to take it to the next level,» she said.
According to her, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, together with the Ministry of Economy, already sees this as a direction for building a new type of Ukrainian economy.
It’s not just about robots. The transfer of military technologies to the civilian sector can involve communications, autonomous systems, robotics, navigation, sensors, artificial intelligence, and other technologies that were actively developed during the war.
Ferchuk also calls dual-use one of the three main priorities of his work at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, along with «Diya.City» and artificial intelligence.
