At the Ukraine–EU Defence Industry Forum, two agreements gave Ukrainian defence companies access to EU grant funding.

This was announced by Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov.

“This week, at the Ukraine–EU Defence Industry Forum, together with European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, we signed two landmark agreements that will give Ukrainian defence companies access to R&D grants under the European Defence Fund (EDF) and to funding for scaling up manufacturing capabilities under the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP).

These agreements create new opportunities to scale Ukrainian defence innovations, attract grant funding, and support defence startups.

Joint R&D initiatives will enable Ukraine and the European Union to develop next-generation defence technologies together and further integrate our defence industries.

Today, Ukraine is not only learning from its partners—it is also shaping new approaches to modern warfare.”

“Together, we are defining priorities, sharing expertise, and helping our partners better understand the trends and challenges of the modern battlefield. This is how we build a true win-win partnership,” Mykhailo Fedorov said.

The Minister also noted that the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) includes a dedicated Ukraine Support Instrument (USI).

The instrument provides €300 million to strengthen Ukraine’s defence industrial capabilities. Of this amount, €260 million will be allocated to expanding manufacturing capacity, while €35.3 million will support innovation through the BraveTech EU USI grant programme. Under the initiative, Brave1 will award grants of up to €200,000 for projects at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 and above.

The grants may cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.

The BraveTech EU programme under the European Defence Fund (EDF)—the first joint initiative dedicated to defence innovation—is gaining momentum. It already includes the European DefTech Forges initiative and the dedicated Brave1 grant programme for Ukrainian defence companies.

The next stage will introduce grant opportunities for both Ukrainian and EU-based companies through the Ukraine Support Instrument.

“We are now awaiting the ratification of these agreements by the Ukrainian Parliament. Together with our partners, we will be able to scale up defence innovation and develop new solutions for the battlefield in Ukraine,” Fedorov said.

He emphasized that Ukraine’s defence industry has already become one of the key drivers of technological change in modern warfare.

“Our task now is to help these innovations scale and, together, strengthen the security of both Ukraine and Europe,” he added.

The Minister also thanked Andrius Kubilius, the European Union team, and all Ukrainian and European companies that are working together to build a new architecture for European defence.

As previously reported by ArmyInform, Ukraine has received unique mobile F-16 training simulators.