Drone manufacturers will be paid in advance: Ministry of Defense changes DOT-Chain Defence rules
Drone Industry
The DOT Defense Procurement Agency, at the initiative of the Ministry of Defense, is launching an advance payment mechanism for manufacturers on the DOT-Chain Defense weapons marketplace: from now on, high-performing drone manufacturers will receive advance payments. The goal is to provide the market with working capital to accelerate the production and delivery of drones to combat units.
This was reported by the Ministry of Defense’s press service, according to Censor.NET.
The DOT-Chain Defence business model involves payment upon delivery of goods. Now, if a manufacturer fulfills orders consistently and quickly, they can also receive a portion of the payment in advance.
How a new advance payment mechanism will accelerate drone production
The advance payment tool enables production to scale up. This is particularly important as demand from military units grows, which could otherwise affect order fulfillment times. The principle is simple: the faster orders are fulfilled for the front lines, the larger the advance payment the business receives.
"We see real demand from units in DOT-Chain Defence and the speed with which manufacturers fulfill it. But for some companies, the bottleneck isn’t technology—it’s working capital. That is why we are launching advance payments. They are tied to the total value of orders in previous periods and the actual speed of delivery: the faster you fulfill orders, the larger the advance payment you receive. This is an additional incentive to produce and deliver faster," notes Arsen Zhumadilov, Director of the DOT Defense Procurement Agency.
How the advance payment algorithm works
Access to advance payments is granted to producers who:
- have been continuously present in the DOT-Chain Defence system for at least 3 months;
- have no overdue debts to the Agency.
The amount of the prepayment depends on the actual order fulfillment rate over the previous 3 months:
- up to 70% advance payment – if the average delivery time is 30 calendar days or less;
- up to 30% advance payment – if the delivery time is longer.
The basis for calculation is the actual orders placed in the system.
Advance payment is required for a period of 60 days. In the event of non-fulfillment of obligations, unused funds will be refunded, and a fee will be charged for the use of the funds in the event of a delay in their return.
A detailed procedure for advance payments is available on the official website of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA).
