Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1542142
primarily the very limited production of drones in Western countries and their high price; wholesale purchases of Chinese drones by the Ukrainian state became politically impossible, although without doubt Chinese drones and components are still bought by private firms, foundations and individuals and will continue to be purchased. At some point the MDT decided that developing domestic production was the best direction for Ukraine, which resulted in the launch of the Brave-1 platform. Initially it was a platform encouraging the development of industrial production in Ukraine's defense sector. The MDT team, with full government support, developed new simplified regulations allowing new medium and small firms to enter a market previously closed to them. Brave-1 financed startups in Ukraine's DefenseTech sector, helped them build their first prototypes, helped present them to the Ministry of Defense and subsequently go through all the necessary tests to open the way for those products to be widely used by the army, Later Brave-1 also supported scaling up production of drones, ammunition and armored vehicles, connecting Western and Ukrainian investors with local manufacturers. The Brave-1 team's task was to overthrow the existing monopoly of state companies in the defense sector and create a competitive environment. Brave-1 deliberately created a very lively internal market full of offers and many customers on that market where normally the state alone would be the sole buyer. In Ukrainian conditions buyers also include pro-defense foundations that can order drones and other weapons for the army. But the Brave-1 team went further and transformed each Ukrainian brigade into a separate customer on the defense market. For these purposes the Brave-1 Market platform was created. It is an e-commerce platform conceptually taken from civilian online retail, but instead of clothes and toys it offers drones, electronic warfare systems and individual soldier equipment. Access is given to users verified through the Delta system — officers and soldiers — but there is also a separate layer for volunteers and even ordinary civilians. Each Ukrainian brigade receives a certain monthly pool of funds in addition to standard army supplies. These funds are virtual and available on the Brave-1 Market platform to be spent on any products offered there. This allows tailoring a unit's equipment to the specific tactical situation on a given sector of the front under the philosophy that the tactical commander best knows what his soldiers need at a particular moment. In addition, a scoring system was introduced in which a unit receives points for destroying an enemy vehicle or personnel; these points can later be spent on Brave-1 Market to purchase more drones or other equipment. Such a system also enables direct contact between producer and frontline user, bypassing the state as an intermediary, which encourages rapid technological development in response to current battlefield needs. Today Brave-1 has transformed into a kind of Ukrainian innovation development agency that creates favorable legislation for the defense sector, manages the strategic direction of that sector, possesses its own secure infrastructure for product testing, and has its own frontline unit whose task is to test Ukrainian and foreign products on the battlefield. Brave-1 also invests in education by creating scholarship programs and expanding places at technical universities for future Ukrainian engineers. Brave-1 is undoubtedly one of the main reasons for the dynamic development of Ukraine's defense sector in recent years — development that is happening under completely different conditions and according to a different algorithm than that seen in Russia or the West. In Russia this process is centralized, with the state as the sole client, investor and main producer. The state builds large new industrial centers, orders products and rescues firms that fail due to inefficiency or unprofitability. Lacking the financial resources of the Russians, Ukrainians had to push their industry forward by a different route. They built a competitive environment where the state merely creates the framework for development and is one of several market clients. That competitive environment produces technological progress and high-quality products that attract investors and lead to scaling up production. PART 5. AN ARMY OF MANY SPEEDS The above description may give the impression of colossal changes in the Ukrainian army, industry and state that will make them a true leader in digital technologies on a global scale. Largely that is true, but it should not be forgotten that this rapid development process also carries many flaws. The overall condition of Ukraine's management system and state institutions leaves much to be desired, which inevitably impacts the defense sector's development. The slogan of digital transformation sometimes www.fragoutmag.com