Defense procurement shifts to tender format: open drone auctions to begin this summer, Fedorov says
This summer, Ukraine will begin shifting defense procurement to tender procedures, including in the drone sector. The largest competitive procurement of 155 mm artillery shells has already taken place, making it possible to save more than 16%.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said this, Forbes reports.
According to him, drone procurement will be moved to an open tender format this summer. The aim of the reform is to create a transparent, competitive and efficient defense procurement system with minimized corruption risks.
Fedorov stressed that a pilot large-scale tender for the procurement of 155 mm artillery ammunition had already proved the effectiveness of the competitive model, with savings exceeding 16%.
At the same time, Fedorov said, the government is introducing a package of anti-corruption updates in defense procurement. This includes, in particular, changes to approaches to research and development work and the introduction of state mechanisms to guarantee the quality of defense products.
Another area of work is creating a guaranteed baseline minimum of drones for brigades.
"We need every unit to understand what minimum amount of equipment it is guaranteed to receive next month in order to plan its work and operations," Fedorov said.
As a reminder, on 20 May, the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) launched its first open procurement procedure for 5,000 pickup trucks to support the Defense Forces through a tender in the Prozorro system. This is one of the first major examples of purchasing pickup trucks for the military through open competitive procedures.
In early May, the government approved changes to the procedure for coordinating international military aid under martial law. From now on, the Defense Procurement Agency can conduct procurement using foreign donor funds for all components of Ukraine’s security and defense sector.
