How DOT-Chain Defence is changing rules of game for Ukraine’s drone industry
Drone Industry
DOT-Chain Defence is a digital platform that enables military units to order defence products directly from manufacturers. It primarily covers the procurement of drones and electronic warfare (EW) systems.
DOT-Chain Defence operates like an online marketplace: units can select equipment, specify parameters, place orders, and receive delivery within days, bypassing the unnecessary bureaucracy that used to delay supplies. Equipment can be paid for with e-points credited to units for confirmed target strikes. For example, destroying a tank earns 40 points; an infantryman, 6 points.
Previously, troops had to wait months to replenish their arsenals; that timeline has now been cut significantly, to an average of 10 days, says Deputy Minister of Defence for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization Oksana Ferchuk.
The pilot was launched in July 2025 with a budget of UAH 600 million. In just the first month, 5,600 drones worth UAH 216 million were delivered to the front. At that stage, only 12 brigades on the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv axes were involved, effectively UAH 50 million per brigade to test the full functionality.
In October, a total of 130 brigades across different sectors of the front will gain access to the marketplace. An additional UAH 1.5 billion has been allocated for this, to be distributed by the General Staff among the brigades.
Overall, since the first marketplace order on July 31, nearly 46,000 drones and EW systems (together with the Army of Drones Bonus program) have been delivered via DOT-Chain Defence, that’s over 640 platforms per day.
"We are giving the military a tool that lets them set priorities themselves and quickly obtain what they need without excess bureaucracy. Scaling DOT-Chain Defence and adding funding will allow us to cover critical frontline needs even faster," explains Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The product range will also expand. The platform currently offers FPV drones, bomber drones, and fixed-wing UAVs. Other UAV types, GRS (Ground Robotic Systems), EW/ESM suites, and munitions drops will be added gradually, the Defence Ministry and the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) promise. Manufacturers also assume that not only finished products but components as well will be available to order, which would be logical.
Overall, the Defence Ministry plans to reach 70% of UAV provisioning via DOT-Chain Defence within a year.
How DOT-Chain Defence works
The Defense Procurement Agency describes DOT-Chain Defence as an ecosystem that unites verified suppliers, the military, and the agency itself into a single digital model.
Suppliers wishing to join the system must first undergo verification. This requires completing an application and providing the specified documents. Access to the DOT-Chain Defence supplier dashboard is granted only after an official supply contract is concluded with the manufacturer, specifically under this mechanism.
All procurements within the DOT-Chain Defence are funded from the DPA’s budget. Payments are made on an "upon receipt" basis against orders in the system, which likewise incentivizes manufacturers to shorten delivery lead times.
"We bypass a huge chunk of bureaucracy. Our troops can procure equipment directly from manufacturers. And that’s crucial, because the single biggest change brought by DOT-Chain Defence is time. Before, waiting for equipment dragged on for months, seven, eight, even ten months were real cases," DEVIRO, developing, designing, and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles and related software since 2014, explained to Business Censor.
Benefits for manufacturers
DEVIRO notes that our troops very often receive the equipment that happens to be available, not the equipment they actually need, which inevitably affects operational effectiveness.
"And that used to be a major problem. For example, we run a pilot school. We want a pilot, once certified, to start working on our platforms immediately. Previously, we had to work with whatever was on hand. Now there’s an option to procure precisely the UAVs the crews operate, the ones they have experience with and can employ most effectively. All the more so since orders are fulfilled within two weeks. That’s a big win compared to the months-long waits we had before," the company says.
On October 9, the DOT-Chain Defence weapons marketplace launched a ratings feature: service members can now rate ordered drones and leave feedback on their use in combat conditions.
Ratings range from 1 (unsatisfactory) to 5 (excellent). Reviews can note both pros and cons of the product, specifics of field employment, ease of use, build quality, resistance to interference, and so on.
Although for now only the military can see the ratings, the feature will eventually be available to manufacturers as well. That will ultimately intensify competition among market players.
Volodymyr Zinovskyi, deputy director at TAF Industries, previously told Censor.NET that "competition really forces manufacturers to constantly improve the product and drive down unit costs so that buyers choose them."
In short, the ratings system will give drone makers an added incentive to improve. Those who can’t withstand the competition will be forced either to exit the market, consolidate, or pivot, e.g., to producing components, software, and the like instead of complete drones.
"If your product is competitive and in demand, it can’t stay on the sidelines. This is where the Brave1 cluster deserves mention. They provide strong support to small companies. They help with resources, product codification, and going to market. With them, there’s a clear pathway to becoming a manufacturer whose products are needed. If the products are substandard, frankly, they shouldn’t exist at all. We’re fighting a resource-rich adversary with advantages. Only a high-quality, modern product can be a true game-changer," DEVIRO explained.
The company added that DOT-Chain Defence enables deep analysis:
"Manufacturers can see which of their products are currently most in demand with the troops, and the military can see which equipment is most relevant right now. This helps us focus, set priorities, and improve products in line with frontline needs. The situation changes very quickly, what works today may be irrelevant in six months. This way our tasking remains agile, and decisions are made very fast."
How the military responds to the system
Mykola Kolesnyk, commander of the 422nd Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems, emphasized on Army FM that the system allows units to bypass the traditional paper chain, making the process of obtaining required armaments as streamlined as possible.
"The main problem is having to go through that hellish paper trail. What you order today is already outdated by the time it arrives. Thanks to DOT-Chain Defence, we receive exactly what we need, here and now, as fast as possible. Shorter lead times translate into greater effectiveness on the battlefield," he stressed.
According to Kolesnyk, there are plans to launch a write-off system whereby, for example, before launch the drone operator scans a QR code; once the UAV is airborne, digitization will enable automatic inventory write-off.
"We made our first purchase—100 fiber-optic drones. We received them in 10 days, ordering in small batches. We were in direct contact with the manufacturer and asked our questions. And the funding turned into assets that are eliminating the enemy on the Pokrovsk axis," said Denys Poliachenko, an officer with the unmanned systems section of the 25th Brigade’s headquarters, in a segment on the United News telethon.
In addition to the delivery speed, he also noted the high quality of the drones ordered.
"This isn’t like 2.5 years ago, when we were cobbling everything together ourselves in dugouts. This is a step change. It’s exactly what we needed at this stage," Poliachenko stressed.
Lieutenant Colonel Shamil Krutkov, commander of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar," points out that on the modern battlefield, the side that adapts faster wins. And DOT-Chain Defence is precisely about speed.
By the way, DOT-Chain Defence will soon add a "configurator" feature that will let units assemble and order drones with the required components (antennas, controllers, firmware, frequencies) tailored to their existing kit and combat tasks.
In other words, commanders and operators will gain control over exactly which UAVs their unit is equipped with—from light FPVs to fixed-wings and heavy bomber drones with standardized compatibility and turnkey delivery. That will make the Defense Forces’ work even more effective.
"Overall, the product lineup will expand in step with how quickly manufacturers join the system and with the requests coming from the military. This market will keep growing. DOT-Chain Defence first added FPV drones, then bomber drones. And fixed-wings are already being added. The next step for us, most likely, is the rollout of our new product, Bulava, including a long-wing variant. In other words, fixed-wing strike UAV, DEVIRO says.
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Not much time has passed since DOT-Chain Defence launched, but it’s already clear that both manufacturers and the military are satisfied with the system. Judging by the Defence Ministry’s plans to scale it up, the results also meet expectations in government offices. So in the near term, we should expect the announced features, such as the drone "configurator", to appear, along with a broader product range and a higher volume of orders.
