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Ukraine’s New Defense Tech Speeds Up Deployment of 1,000 Drones to Combat Zones
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The delivery of drones to Ukrainian troops through the DOT-Chain Defense system has been completed four times faster than via standard procurement procedures, with some orders fulfilled in less than two weeks, the Defense Procurement Agency reported on August 13.
Military units operating in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Kherson sectors have already received the drones.
In the first two weeks of DOT-Chain Defense’s operation, troops placed 43 orders for nearly 1,000 FPV and bomber drones worth almost $5.89 million.
“We are already seeing the first results of DOT-Chain Defense—drones ordered through the marketplace have already arrived at the units. The fastest delivery from order to receipt took only six days. Every day we can reduce the time from request to delivery to the front means lives saved and faster adaptation to changes on the battlefield,” said Arsen Zhumadilov, head of the Defense Procurement Agency.
DOT-Chain Defense is currently running in pilot mode, involving 12 brigades engaged in combat in the most intense areas of the front. The first orders were placed on July 31.
“After the initial introduction to the system, skepticism turned into interest and support. It truly removes unnecessary bureaucracy from combat units and allows them to quickly get what they need—exactly when they need it,” said Oleg, call sign “Patriot,” from the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar.”
The agency noted that before launching the system, the Defense Procurement Agency team and DOT conducted special training for the military. The first stage was online familiarization, followed by on-site support in combat zones to help soldiers place their first orders.
DOT-Chain Defense is a digital weapons marketplace designed to provide Ukraine’s Defense Forces with faster and more flexible access to equipment. The Ministry of Defense has allocated $24.5 million to the Defense Procurement Agency to support its launch.
The platform allows brigades to order FPV drones, with additional categories—including other UAVs, electronic warfare systems, and robotic platforms—to be added in the near future.
Earlier, it was reported that the United States will launch an online marketplace this fall, enabling military units to directly purchase drones and speeding up both acquisition and deployment.
Modeled on Ukraine’s Brave1 Market, introduced earlier this year to accelerate access to unmanned systems and related technologies, the platform aims to provide a faster, more flexible supply channel for cutting-edge drone capabilities.
