Weapon

The Ukrainian hexacopter "Ayudag-6" from Gurzuf Defence helped evacuate a wounded soldier from the front line. The drone, which was originally created to transport heavy loads, was specially adapted to save a person. We tell you what is known about the "Ayudag-6", how much it can lift and what other unusual tasks the drones of its "family" Heavy Shot performed.

Viktor Shapovalov left his job at Ajax Systems to create reliable electronics for the military. At that time, there was a shortage of ammunition on the front, and instead of a technological revolution, pilots used homemade clothespins to blow up drones. Today, his company ZMIYAR develops comprehensive solutions, which took the prize at this year's IT Arena, for managing minefields and connecting hundreds of devices into a single secure network. In the interview, we discussed the key challenges for defense-tech startups in 2026: changing booking criteria, a catastrophic shortage of hardware engineers, and unexpected logistical obstacles within the country.

The Ukrainian defense industry is undergoing a large-scale transformation. Alongside traditional enterprises, a new private MilTech sector is rapidly developing, generating demand for engineers, managers, and international investments.

Ukrainian Buntar Aerospace raised $16 million in investment last week. The company develops Buntar-3 reconnaissance drones and Buntar Copilot software, which helps automate some of the crew’s work. Now the main task is to scale production to meet growing demand from the front. The company says that its solutions have already proven their effectiveness in combat conditions. In particular, Buntar-3 helped strike a Shahed warehouse at the Donetsk airfield. The funds raised will be used primarily to expand production capacities, develop software and an engineering team. Other areas include developing solutions for anti-drone defense, precision strikes, and developing the production of medium-range drones. dev.ua spoke with Buntar Aerospace co-founder Bohdan Sas about why the company is attracting investment right now, what is holding back its growth, and what role algorithms already play in combat missions. Also, how quickly developers are adapting technologies to new threats on the frontline, whether they plan to enter international markets, and what results they want to achieve in the next two to three years.