Military receives over million drones through DOT-Chain Defence in year – Defence Ministry
Drone Industry
In the year since the launch of the DOT-Chain Defence IT system, which operates as a weapons marketplace, the Defence Forces of Ukraine have received more than 1.2 million drones and other assets worth UAH 69.2 billion.
The Ministry of Defence reported this, according to Censor.NET.
The average delivery time from warehouses has reportedly been reduced from months to weeks and now stands at nine days.
Improving supply to the Defence Forces
The marketplace has changed the entire approach to supplying the military and has allowed combat units to independently choose which assets the state will provide them with.
Having started as a pilot project for 12 units with several dozen models of FPV drones, DOT-Chain Defence has expanded to 486 combat units.
Today, its catalogue covers all major types of unmanned systems, munitions for them and electronic warfare equipment. A total of 1,181 items from 300 manufacturers are available to order.
Advantages of DOT-Chain Defence
No reports, paper documents or approvals from higher-ranking officials are required to obtain weapons through DOT-Chain Defence. A service member logs into the system, makes a few clicks, places an order and receives the required equipment. The Defence Procurement Agency handles all bureaucratic procedures and payments.
According to Deputy Defence Minister Mstyslav Banik, the Ministry of Defence is responding to the challenges of modern warfare, as traditional supply tools may be ineffective at the current pace of combat operations. In this case, the arms market and a civilian approach may work more efficiently and quickly, particularly in logistics.
"This is precisely why we created DOT-Chain Defence, which has become the best example of how digitalisation is radically changing processes in the military. The online platform has become a direct communication channel between a service member and a manufacturer in defence procurement. We are minimising bureaucracy and paperwork and removing unnecessary chains of approval that often take up time. We have made the processes faster while retaining the necessary oversight. Thus, civilian approaches to military affairs, digitised and properly administered, have produced the best result: the rapid delivery of the necessary equipment to the military," Banik added.
According to him, the Ministry of Defence will continue to scale up such successful solutions.
Interaction between military personnel and manufacturers
DOT-Chain Defence has changed not only the supply of the military but also the principle of interaction between service members and Ukrainian manufacturers.
The marketplace has enabled the military to quickly obtain the necessary equipment while giving Ukrainian manufacturers direct contact with service members and predictable demand. This makes it possible to promptly improve products and respond quickly to frontline needs.
"Over the past six months, manufacturers whose products are regularly selected through DOT-Chain Defence have increased their production capacity severalfold. Competition to win the military as a customer has become the driving force behind this development and allows Ukraine to set the pace in the global race for defence innovation," said Arsen Zhumadilov, Director of the Defence Procurement Agency DOT.
International partners, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, are already studying the experience of DOT-Chain Defence. NATO, France and the United States have announced the launch of similar drone marketplaces.
