Ukraine's Brave1 defense innovation cluster has opened new grants for exoskeletons and anti-dugout munitions. Both categories address specific frontline gaps that Ukrainian companies have been experimenting with informally through 2025 and 2026, according to Ukraine's Defense Ministry.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced 53 new technological priorities across nine directions in the updated Brave1 grant program. Grants range from $12,000 to $192,000, depending on the full development cycle, from idea validation to finished-product testing.

Why does Ukraine need exoskeletons?

Anti-dugout munitions address a different tactical gap

Russian forces have built extensive reinforced field shelters across the frontline zones, and standard Ukrainian FPV warheads at 2 to 3 kilograms do not defeat these positions.

Precision-delivered munitions designed to penetrate reinforced dugouts would let Ukrainian infantry break Russian positions at standoff distance rather than closing to grenade range through saturated Russian FPV zones. Ukraine's larger-scale answer to fortified positions is the Vyrivniuvach guided bomb, which entered combat use on 18 May 2026.

What is Brave1? 

Brave1 has become the central hub of Ukraine's wartime defense innovation ecosystem. As of June 2026, the cluster had processed over $235 million in procurement orders, registered more than 3,600 developments, secured 300 NATO-codified items, and disbursed $50 million in defense innovation grants.

The grant expansion sits alongside a growing network of bilateral defense innovation partnerships. Brave1 already runs Brave Germany, Brave France with $22 million from the French Defense Innovation Agency, Brave NATO through the UNITE program, and Brave Prime for global industrial alliances joined by Airbus in July 2026.

Brave1 also plans humanoid robots and laser air defense

Brave1 will soon announce additional grant competitions totaling over $2.4 million for breakthrough technologies, including humanoid robots, aerobuggies, anti-KAB (glide-bomb) systems, laser air defense, and Ukrainian radars.

The humanoid robot funding continues the world-first Ukrainian program that opened for grants earlier in July 2026. Ukraine became the first state to fund combat humanoid robots as a separate defense procurement category, treating them as a distinct line rather than as commercial adaptations.

Anti-KAB systems address one of Ukraine's most difficult tactical problems. Russia has deployed KAB glide bomb attacks at rates of thousands per month, giving its air force a standoff strike capability. Laser air defense targets the persistent cost gap between Ukrainian air defense interceptors and Russian missile production. Ukrainian radars aim to replace foreign radar systems with domestically produced ones.

The detailed grant program and technological priorities are available at grants.brave1.tech.

Ukraine is the first state to fund combat humanoid robots as a separate category in defense procurement. Ukraine's Brave1 defense cluster has opened a grant competition for developing domestic bipedal humanoid robots designed exclusively for military tasks, Tech Times reports.

The decision creates a doctrinal precedent that other armed forces will have to respond to, regardless of whether the first grant recipients fire a single shot.

Brave1 CEO Andrii Hrytseniuk framed the move as a strategic response to global trends in humanoid development.

"We see how quickly the humanoid robotics industry is developing worldwide, in China and the United States. We see that such robots have value for strengthening our military capabilities. That is why we are moving in this direction," Hrytseniuk said.

Only humanoid robot tested in real combat conditions

Ukraine is designing systems for combat environments without GPS access, under electronic warfare pressure, where a robot may end up buried in rubble or in a flooded trench.

The only humanoid robot tested in real combat conditions in Ukraine so far is the Phantom MK-1. Its limitations include low payload capacity, no water protection, short autonomous work time, and high technical complexity.

Ukraine's Brave1 grant reflects those limitations. Instead of asking developers to build a fully autonomous combat robot at once, the program allows them to start with simpler platforms that can be improved and expanded with new functions.

Ukraine's ground robot ecosystem runs on wheels, tracks, and four legs

The theoretical advantage of humanoid robots lies in their human-like body structure. It lets them work in human-designed environments: use stairs, pass through narrow corridors, operate inside buildings, interact with equipment designed for people, all without changing the infrastructure.

On a factory floor, bipedal robots operate on level, predictable surfaces. On a battlefield, they have to cross mud, rubble, shell craters, and blast effects.

Ukraine's ground robots that are actually winning battlefield missions are wheeled, tracked, and four-legged. These configurations succeed because of simplicity, lower cost, and quick replacement ability.

Ukraine's Defense Forces received 1,028 ground robotic complexes worth 487 million UAH ($11.7 million) through the DOT-Chain Defense marketplace by mid-2026.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry codified 67 new ground robot models in the first half of 2026 alone, none of them bipedal. Ukrainian forces captured a Russian position for the first time using only drones and ground robots in April 2026.

Brave1 methodology starts simple and iterates on battlefield

Brave1 has applied its staged development approach to FPV drones, ground robotic complexes, interceptor drones, and other military technologies. Systems go from experimental development to practical battlefield application through rapid testing and feedback. The bipedal humanoid category is now on the same track.

A military humanoid must withstand impacts, dirt, radio interference, extreme temperatures, and enemy attacks. Repair happens directly in field conditions.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov flagged in May 2026 that ground robots operate in a much more challenging communication environment than aerial drones. Terrain, urban infrastructure, tree lines, and cover constantly interfere with the control signal, and a robot that loses its link drops out of the mission.

The connectivity constraint that already limits wheeled and tracked robots will apply doubly to a bipedal system trying to balance itself on unpredictable terrain.

The Brave1 grant does not commit Ukraine to deploying humanoid robots in the near term. It commits the state to funding domestic developers who will attempt to build systems for a battlefield where wheels, tracks, and four legs currently dominate, and where a bipedal humanoid must earn its place against faster, cheaper, and more replaceable competitors.

Ukraine's ground robots ran 16,676 logistics and evacuation missions in June. That is up 18.6% from May and 122% since January, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. Ground drones are delivering ammunition and food to frontline positions and evacuating wounded and fallen soldiers, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said. 

Ukraine has run more than 66,300 ground robot missions since the start of 2026. The Defense Procurement Agency (DOT) has contracted more than 22,000 ground drones for 2026 with plans to contract significantly more by year-end.

The explicit goal is to move 100% of frontline logistics onto robotic solutions. Ukrainian forces captured a Russian position for the first time using only drones and ground robots in April 2026.

Ukraine received 1,028 ground robotic complexes worth $11.7 million through the DOT-Chain Defense marketplace by mid-May, where soldiers choose the most needed items themselves.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry codified 67 new ground robot models in H1 2026, with the latest being the Tanchik Droid 12.7 codified on 8 July for reconnaissance and light-armor destruction.

Monthly missions climbed from 7,500 to 16,700

The monthly progression through H1 2026 is steady: 7,511 in January, 7,960 in February, 9,072 in March, 11,028 in April, 14,059 in May, and 16,676 in June. 

In the three months preceding the April 2026 robot-only capture, Ukrainian ground robots completed more than 22,000 missions across systems including Ratel, Termit, Ardal, Rys, Zmii, Protector, and Volya.

The Defense Ministry adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov flagged in May 2026 that connectivity remains the main constraint on ground robot use, not hardware. Terrain, urban infrastructure, tree lines, and cover interfere with control signals, and a robot that loses its link drops out of the mission.

eBaly points motivate combat units to use robots

Ukraine's Defense Ministry uses an "eBaly" (eScoring) points system to motivate ground robot use. Units earn eBaly for completed missions, then exchange the points through the Brave1 Market marketplace for FPV drones, heavy bombers, ground robotic complexes, electronic warfare systems, and other technologies.

Over 400 Ukrainian combat units have used the updated eBaly program, ordering equipment worth over about $790 million, including over 500,000 drones. The Defense Ministry can see verified results from the use of robotic complexes through the system and scale effective solutions faster. The eBaly system converts frontline mission performance directly into procurement decisions, cutting the traditional lag between what units need and what they get.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense has codified the new Tanchik Droid 12.7 ground robot. The ministry said the robot is designed for remote battlefield observation, reconnaissance, and destruction of enemy infantry and unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. Operators control it from a safe shelter using a secure communication channel.

Ukraine plans to contract 25,000 more ground robots by the end of H1 2026 and 50,000 units by year-end, with the strategic goal of moving all frontline logistics onto robots.

Design draws on combat experience

The developer designed the Tanchik Droid 12.7 specifically for high-intensity warfare, drawing on real combat experience with domestic and foreign ground robots.

The main task, per the ministry, is to preserve soldiers' lives on the first line by taking over the most dangerous missions in high-fire-density areas.

Ukrainian forces captured a Russian position for the first time using only drones and ground robots in April 2026.

In the three months preceding that operation, Ukrainian ground robots completed more than 22,000 missions across systems including Ratel, Termit, Ardal, Rys, Zmii, Protector, and Volya.

Ukrainian brigades now use ground robots to move ammunition, fuel, food, drone batteries, and blood for transfusions through Russian "kill zones" reaching up to 20 kilometers deep on the most intense sectors.

Connectivity remains the main constraint

Ukraine's Defense Ministry adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov flagged in May 2026 that ground robots operate in a much more challenging communication environment than aerial drones.

Terrain, urban infrastructure, tree lines, and cover constantly interfere with the control signal, and a robot that loses its link drops out of the mission.

The DOT-Chain Defense marketplace, built by the Defense Procurement Agency, lets combat units choose systems and quantities themselves while the agency handles contracts, payments, and logistics.

That has cut delivery from months to weeks.

Ukraine's military shared the demining technologies tested at UTTC Technology Week 2026. The 40-tonne ScanJack 3500 heavy demining machine and robotic platforms for urban operations were among the showcased systems, ArmyInform reports.

The combined heavy-machine and robotic-platform showcase fits Ukraine's broader shift toward remote demining, with the defenders emphasizing field experience over theoretical demonstration. Ukraine remains the world's most mine-contaminated country, with approximately 460,000 hectares of territory identified for clearance.

Practical goals from the showcase are to reduce risk to personnel, shorten survey and clearance times, raise situational awareness, and expand the share of dangerous work performed remotely, per ArmyInform.

ScanJack 3500 clears mines to 30–40 cm depth at walking pace

The ScanJack 3500 weighs nearly 40 tonnes and clears mines to a maximum depth of 30 to 40 centimeters. The machine operates at speeds between 0.2 and 1.5 kilometers per hour during demining and consumes 50 to 90 liters of fuel per hour, depending on conditions.

The operator works from inside an armored cab covered with steel paneling and bulletproof glass, controlling the system via a joystick. The Swedish-built machine carries two engines — one for the vehicle's drivetrain and one for the demining attachment.

Robotic platforms tackle urban demining in destroyed areas

Robotic platforms for searching, detecting, and destroying explosive ordnance were also showcased for use in hard-to-access urban environments such as destroyed settlements, industrial zones, and private-sector buildings. Work in urban conditions is jewelry-precise and super-dangerous because of mine-traps, trip wires, and rubble. The ground robotic platforms' main task is not only to neutralize explosives but to keep Ukrainian sappers out of immediate proximity to them.

In recent months, Ukraine has codified domestic ground robots specifically for sapper roles, including the NEO-1 modular platform and the upgraded Vepr ground robotic complex. The Defense Ministry's broader procurement target is more than 25,000 ground robotic complexes in the first half of 2026, which is twice as many as in all of 2025.

Shuvarskyi says showcase reflected operational practice, not theory

"What we presented at UTTC Technology Week was not theoretical projections, but real field experience of demining units," Colonel Oleh Shuvarskyi said during demonstration events.

Most demonstrated technologies have dual-use applications and can be deployed for both humanitarian demining and military mobility, engineering reconnaissance, remote inspection of dangerous territories, logistics, evacuation, and engineering tasks in combat areas. 

The Defense Ministry has approved the Ukrainian-made ground-based robotics complex "Murakha" ("Ant") for combat operations, the ministry announced on June 28.

Since 2024, Ukraine has been scaling up robotics development in hopes that mass production of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) will "minimize human involvement on the battlefield."

The Murakha is a tracked robotic platform designed to support front-line units working under challenging conditions, such as under enemy artillery and in heavily mined terrain, the Defense Ministry said.

Its larger size makes it one of Ukraine's leading UGVs in terms of load capacity. The Murakha can reportedly carry over half a ton of weight across dozens of kilometers. It can also cross difficult terrain and shallow water.

According to the Defense Ministry, the Murakha's multiple control channels allow it to function successfully even in areas of the battlefield where Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems are operating.

Mobile robots are capable of performing several tasks on the battlefield, including offensive and defensive activities, evacuation of the wounded, logistical support for units, and mining and demining.

In April, the Defense Ministry unveiled the D-21-12R UGV, a ground-based robot equipped with a machine gun.

Ukrainian drones strike missile, drone arsenal in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast

Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) struck on June 28 the 1060th Material-Technical Support Center in the city of Bryansk, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The facilities store a Russian missile and drone arsenal, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing a source in HUR.

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat