Ukrainian defense cluster Brave1, jointly with NATO, has officially opened applications for the first joint grant program UNITE – Brave NATO. This was reported on July 28 on the cluster’s page and by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

UNITE – Brave NATO combines the efforts of Ukrainian companies and companies from NATO member states to create innovative solutions. The first competition is focused on developing counter-drone capabilities against hostile unmanned aerial vehicles and strengthening air defense.

Priority areas include protection systems against FPV drones, solutions for countering Shahed-type drones, electromagnetic interference technologies, radio-technical reconnaissance means, autonomous targeting systems, and high-altitude flight platforms.

Only joint teams may apply: projects from Ukrainian developers and companies from Alliance member states are accepted. Moreover, the application on behalf of both partnership sides must be submitted by the Ukrainian company. 

The funding amount is up to €500,000 for the Ukrainian company and up to €500,000 for the NATO-country partner, i.e., up to €1 million per joint project. Ukrainian companies will be funded by Brave1, while the costs of NATO-country participants will be covered within the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package, subject to restrictions on non-lethal support.

The competition consists of two stages:

  1. Compliance check of companies against the program’s qualification requirements. The deadline for submitting requests is 5 working days from the date of the announcement’s publication, with a deadline of August 3.
  2. Full grant application. This stage will run from August 11 to August 31. Companies that successfully pass the compliance check proceed to the next stage, where they submit a full application: a description of the joint product, a development plan, a budget estimate, and supporting documents.

Finalists will be selected by a joint Ukraine–NATO commission. The selected solutions will undergo testing in Ukraine, which will serve as the final stage of the program.