DPA introduces a new procurement approach to boost the drone systems market

The Defence Procurement Agency (DPA, Agency) has presented drone manufacturers with an updated procurement model for supplying drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The model aims to stimulate the development of the domestic market by fostering a competitive environment, establishing clear rules, and enabling production planning.

In this way, DPA aims to ensure predictable and rapid delivery of equipment to the AFU, while providing manufacturers and suppliers with a clearer understanding of demand and the current needs of the military.

To this end, the Agency develops alternative procurement and supply instruments. This will not only meet the needs of the military, particularly regarding their role in choosing equipment, but also open the market to a broader range of manufacturers.

“In 2025, more than 128 billion UAH is allocated in the state budget for drone procurement by the Defence Procurement Agency. We are changing our approach to ensure these funds are used effectively: we are establishing clear rules for the market, providing predictability for manufacturers, and delivering results for the military”, - said Director of the Procurement Policy Department at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Glib Kanievskyi.

From now on, DPA will interact with the market through the following mechanisms:

• Direct contracts - for the purchase of unique or specialized drones.

Due to the strategic importance of procurement based on allocated demand, the Agency partially retains the existing approach. However, the focus will be on procuring unique and specialized equipment.

• Framework agreements are competitive tenders based on tactical and technical specifications (TTS).

Drones with similar TTS will be combined into a framework (at the first stage, these will be FPV drones). This will enable competitive procurement involving a diverse range of manufacturers.

• DOT-Chain Defence is a drone marketplace that enables military personnel to choose the equipment that meets their needs independently.

Military units will have more autonomy and will no longer receive equipment solely based on centrally made decisions. This will also reduce the drone delivery process to just a few weeks.

“During our conversations with manufacturers and the military, we identified key barriers: non-transparent procedures, difficult access to participation, and lack of dialogue. Therefore, we updated our approaches: we established clear rules, simplified the entry process, and made the process predictable. This opens up the market to scale up, and the state to quickly meet the needs of the AFU”, - comments Director of DPA, Arsen Zhumadilov.

Among the essential innovations is the verification of suppliers for direct contracts. It helps to ensure that a company meets the basic requirements: it has no affiliations with Russia, Iran, or Belarus, and has sufficient production capacity and financial standing to fulfill contracts. After passing the verification, the supplier is included in the register, which reduces the time required for future verifications and enables the prompt receipt of requests for commercial offers from DPA. This will make procurement faster, more efficient, and more predictable for both parties.

All these processes are detailed in a step-by-step explainer available on the Agency's website. It describes in detail the entire supplier journey, from codification and verification to contracting. Additionally, DPA held an open online meeting with the market, which attracted more than 200 participants - producers and suppliers - who had the opportunity to ask questions and submit their proposals.