The European Defence Agency, Ukraine to Begin Next Phase of BraveTechEU Program

The European Defence Agency and the European Commission signed an agreement on 29 April giving the Agency responsibility for the next phase of BraveTech EU, a joint initiative between the European Union and Ukraine.

The goal of BraveTech EU is to accelerate defence innovation by bringing together the EU’s and Ukraine’s defence industries and empowering them to develop new technologies using lessons learned from real battlefield experience in Ukraine.\

Under the agreement worth €35 million, EDA will be responsible for the BraveTech EU’s second phase focusing on testing of emerging defence technologies and ideas proposed by European and Ukrainian innovators, SMEs, and startups.

Military experts from the EU countries, Ukraine, EDA and the European Commission will then assess the solutions against different operational scenarios drawn from the war in Ukraine.

“EDA’s involvement in BraveTech EU demonstrates the Agency’s capacity to turn promising technologies and ideas into solutions that can be assessed, matured and brought to operational use. BraveTech EU reinforces EDA’s role as a focal point for defence innovation in Europe, linking real military needs, experimentation, and capability development in a more focused, operational way,” said André Denk, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency.

“Ukraine’s resilience in the face of aggression has been an inspiration to us all. Their ingenuity has reshaped the approach to innovation in response to battlefield needs. Today’s cooperation agreement with the European Defence Agency marks a significant step forward in our collective commitment to supporting Ukraine and strengthening European security.

It also shows our shared determination to deliver tangible, impactful solutions through BraveTechEU,” said Timo Pesonen, Director General of fhe European Commission Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space.