Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 in Lviv draws 5,000 visitors from over 50 countries. PHOTOS
Drone Industry
On September 16–17, Defense Tech Valley 2025, organized by the Brave1 cluster and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, took place at Lviv Arena. Over two days, the event gathered more than 5,000 guests: government officials, venture funds and investors from Ukraine, Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, and Asia, military personnel, as well as representatives of leading Ukrainian and international defense companies and startups.
"Ukraine has already become the world’s defense technology hub. The fact that Defense Tech Valley 2025 was attended by more than 1,500 foreign guests from over 50 countries only confirms this. Everyone is looking to Ukrainian technologies for answers on how to respond to modern security threats, as well as for investment opportunities in solutions already tested on the battlefield," said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov.
Expo
At Defense Tech Valley 2025, the Brave1 cluster organized the largest defense technology exhibition in Ukraine’s history. The event brought together more than 230 leading Ukrainian and international manufacturers.
Participants included global defense technology leaders as well as key Ukrainian companies. Exhibitors showcased innovations already proven in combat, as well as new developments: missiles, deep-strike capabilities, laser systems, interceptor drones, AI-powered UAVs, aerostats, ground robotic systems and turrets, including those designed to down Shaheds, next-generation electronic warfare systems, and communications solutions.
"Defense Tech Valley became a unique event for defense technology manufacturers. Here they had the chance to meet with over 1,000 military personnel, ready to share front-line requests and provide valuable feedback, as well as with more than 300 international investors willing to support R&D and scaling," noted Brave1 cluster head Andrii Hrytseniuk.
NRC Arena
To demonstrate the potential of Ukrainian ground robotic systems, Brave1 developed a specialized arena with obstacle courses simulating complex combat scenarios: from destroyed urban infrastructure and forested areas to sand and gravel terrains. Visitors could personally test more than 20 models of ground robotic systems by navigating the obstacle course and experiencing their real-world capabilities.
Startup competition
As part of Defense Tech Valley, the Battle Proven defense startup competition was held. Ukrainian companies pitched their innovations to a jury of investors, major defense companies, and military representatives, competing for a prize fund of $60,000.
Winners by category:
- Trail Blazers - Clarity, which develops AI technologies for the identification of enemy vehicles
- Gamechangers - Dwarf Engineering, which creates AI-based solutions for retargeting and navigation of FPV drones
- Power Players - Farsight Vision, focused on analyzing drone imagery and transforming it into situational awareness maps
In addition, a special award went to Blue Bird, which develops drone detection and communication jamming solutions. The prize fund was provided by Ukrainian and international defense technology leaders: Tekever, Quantum Systems, Athlon Avia, NUNC Capital, and Defence Builder.
Programme.
Over two days, DTV 2025 brought together about 100 speakers. Among them were Haluk Bairaktar, CEO of the Turkish company Baykar Defence, Colonel Andrii Lebedenko, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Myronenko, Deputy Minister of Defence, Taras Chmut, Head of the Come Back Alive Foundation, Kyrylo Veres, Commander of the K-2 unit, Oleh "Hasan" Huit, Commander of the 427th separate regiment of unmanned systems, and many others.
On the second day of DTV 2025, the event opened with a surprise guest, Colonel Pavlo "Lazar" Yelizarov, commander of the National Guard’s Special Purpose Unit Lasar’s Group, who appeared before a large audience with a public speech for the first time. Together with the group’s lead pilot, Captain Roman "Fish," he spoke about the path of Lasar’s Group, which has already destroyed $12 billion worth of enemy equipment, and shared footage of the unit’s unique operations. The Defense Tech Valley summit became the first venue where these videos were shown publicly.
Kimberly Kagan, president of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), spoke about Russian technologies and strategies that require the most urgent response from Ukrainian forces and the entire defense tech ecosystem. Speakers on the advantages of investing in Ukrainian defense technologies included Brem Ostvogel (NUNC Capital), Eveline Buchatsky (D3), Justin Ziff (Green Flag), and Per Lager (Varangians). On dual-use technologies — Gene Kesselman (MIT). On the future of AI technologies in warfare — James Lithgow (Shield.ai), Daniel Ley (Helsing), and others. Among the summit’s speakers were also representatives of leading Ukrainian companies: Denys Chumachenko (DeViro), Yaroslav Azhnyuk (TheFourthLaw), Iryna Terekh (Fire Point), and Andrii Chulyk (Sine Engineering).
