The Center for Scaling of Technological Solutions (CMTR) — the largest IT unit of the Armed Forces — develops "hardware" and software for the army. The products of the division, which the General Staff wants to reduce, have already saved the state tens of millions of hryvnias.
The Center for Scaling of Technological Solutions (CMTR) — the largest IT unit of the Armed Forces — develops "hardware" and software for the army. The products of the division, which the General Staff wants to reduce, have already saved the state tens of millions of hryvnias.
CMTR was formed in May 2023. It includes highly qualified IT workers who before the war worked at SoftServe, Luxoft, Ciklum, EPAM, Google, HP, Samsung, etc. 70% of them have combat experience. For security reasons, the exact number of the unit's personnel is not known, but it is about 1,000 people from Haiti.
Among the developments of the division are both "hardware" and software products. More than 50 projects in total. By directions, it is possible to single out purely military programs for planning, situational awareness, and artificial intelligence. There are also a number of projects on administrative activities, movement, accounting and write-off of property, organization and provision of training, education, etc.
"We developed "Army +", "Impuls" personnel accounting automation system, "Vitryak M" drone detector. We codified it and patented it for MOU. This is the first case when a military unit has codified a product that can be transferred for scaling," - told Forbes Ukraine the head of the CMTR Valery Churkin, who was the technical lead in EPAM and from the beginning of the full-scale war in the ranks of the Armed Forces, in the IT unit from the first days of his formation.
Churkin believes that rumors that the CMTR and other IT units consist of specialists trying to avoid military service are hostile to IPSO or due to competition.
There is competition with private companies that have a commercial interest. For example, at "Army +" there was a colossal saving of funds. Maintaining a unit of professional IT workers is a minimal cost to the state compared to contracting commercial structures that must pay market wages and make a profit.
In the first months of the existence of the CMTR, we received an order for the approval of the Central Committee, which considered the implementation of the MDM service for the General Staff. The estimated cost is about UAH 90 million. Our cyber security experts have analyzed the project. As a result, the price dropped to less than UAH 5 million.
So maybe we just shut down some channels that weren't exactly pro-state.
At the beginning of the year, the unit will be audited and reduction order.
"The order is valid until the end of December. The context is positive. Management sees our results and understands the value of automation. Let's hope that the CMTR will receive new resources to continue its work. This is important because each of our projects creates benefits for the Armed Forces. Our proposal for the number of personnel is at the final stage of review. I think that a positive decision will be approved in the near future," says Churkin.
If the CMTR is reduced, the division will be left with 10 projects in only one direction.
"Now we make both software and hardware, there is cross-functionality. For example, machine vision is software, but it is inseparable from "iron". The reduction of the unit will set us back a long way — it's a direct gift to the enemy," says the head of the CMTR.
On October 1, the servicemen from Aitiv announced the "collapse" of two units that were engaged in the development of IT projects for the Defense Forces.
A few days later, it turned out that the General Staff had ordered the disbandment of these two units.
"They are reforming, not disbanding," Churkin clarified .
