Ukraine continues to invest heavily in technological innovation applied to defence, and at the heart of this transformation lies Brave1, the government defence tech cluster uniting startups, researchers, and industries to develop AI-driven solutions. Among its most advanced projects, autonomous and intelligent drones are reshaping the battlefield — and could soon revolutionise civilian industries as well.
“Europe has a powerful scientific and industrial base,” a Brave1 press officer told EU Perspectives on condition of anonymity, “but often lacks real-world combat experience — the understanding of what actually works against a technologically advanced opponent. We can offer that testing environment.”
New generation of technological warfare
According to the office subordinated to the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Brave1 i.e. AI-powered drones are one of the initiative’s top priorities launch in 2023 from Kyiv.
Today, the simplest form of this technology is terminal guidance: using machine vision, a drone can autonomously identify and lock onto a target, continuing its mission even if its control signal is jammed or lost due to enemy electronic warfare. But Brave1 is already looking further ahead.
“The next step,” explains the press officer, “is the ability to accurately identify, track, and engage targets autonomously on the battlefield.” This evolution points toward an even greater leap: moving beyond the “one drone – one operator” model toward drone swarms — autonomous, intelligent networks capable of communicating with each other and navigating independently in relation to their surroundings. It’s a “potentially game-changing” technology, says, and research is advancing quickly.
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AI-driven drones are currently used primarily to counter electronic warfare (EW) systems, thanks to optical navigation and AI algorithms that allow them to operate without GPS — often unavailable in modern combat zones. Dozens of teams are already developing these technologies on the Brave1 platform, including Norda Dynamics, The Fourth Law, and ZIR. Brave1’s ambition, however, goes beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Through the “Test in Ukraine” initiative, the cluster invites European companies to collaborate and test their solutions in real battlefield conditions — and they should do so and “use” Ukraine as a pivotal hub.
The next step is the ability to accurately identify, track, and engage targets autonomously on the battlefield. – Press officer for Brave1
A future hub for civil applications?
One of Brave1’s main goals is to make machine vision FPV drones a universal technology, ensuring that 100 per cent of all drones at the front use AI and visual recognition. To promote this, the cluster has introduced a bonus for targets destroyed by AI-guided drones as part of the national “Army of Drones. Bonus” program, which incentivises Ukrainian defense units to adopt advanced automated systems. Yet Brave1’s vision goes far beyond the military domain.
The press officer emphasizes that AI-powered drones are a dual-use technology, with potential applications in construction, agriculture, disaster response, and even space exploration once the war is over. It seems that if today autonomous drones are instruments of survival, tomorrow they could become engines of reconstruction and civilian progress.
