The head of the Brave1 defense cluster, Natalia Kushnerska, said that the missile program has the potential to become a game changer on the front in 2025. However, aerial drones «will remain the base», and Ukrainian developers already have 5 MVPs of promising drone swarm technology.
The head of the Brave1 defense cluster, Natalia Kushnerska, said that the missile program has the potential to become a game changer on the front in 2025. However, aerial drones «will remain the base», and Ukrainian developers already have 5 MVPs of promising drone swarm technology.
Kushnerska told Forbes Ukraine about this. She has been working with the Ministry of Digital Affairs projects for two years, and in April 2023 she headed Brave1.
«Codify even more developments so that they quickly appear on the front. We are actively developing the missile program. Dozens of companies are working on the development of Ukrainian missiles. We cannot disclose details. The next step is more grants and more missiles of all types», — the head of Brave1 answered the question about the cluster’s goals for 2025.
According to Kushnerskaya, among the game-changing technologies on the front that were funded in Brave1 were trench electronic warfare in 2023, and ground robots and drone ammunition in 2024. In 2025, it could be the missile program, but «aerial drones remain the base».
She noted that Ukrainian developers continue to work on drone swarm technology to move away from the concept of «one drone — one operator».
«As for swarms, this is a hot technology, we are working on 5 MVPs. The technology of group use of drones is more effective, one operator will be able to control not one UAV, but an entire group», — said Natalia Kushnerska.
Brave1’s budget for 2025 is 3 billion, but if the money runs out before then, the cluster can request additional funding from the government. According to Kushnerskaya, in the event of a freeze or cessation of the war, Brave1 will operate as long as there is «demand and need».
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov said that the Brave1 defense cluster already has over two thousand developments that have received $5 million in grants. He also announced a special project for the missile program, which will start this year.
Last summer, it was reported that Ukrainian company Swarmer was working on artificial intelligence technology that would connect UAVs into large networks for coordinated attacks.
Recently, Denys Chumachenko, Chief Technology Officer of the Dnipro company DeViro, which specializes in the design, development, and production of UAVs, in particular the Leleka drone, shared his thoughts on drone swarms and ways to counter them.
