---
title: "Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Announces Grant Competitions for Air-to-Air Missiles and Domestic Radars"
description: "The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Digital Transformation, and Brave1 have launched grant competitions for air-to-air missiles and domestic radars. The next step will be a competition for turbojet engines."
date: 2026-10-30T14:00:08.937Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/mod-launch-grants-air-to-air-missiles-radars
tags: [ukraine, defense, missiles, radar, air-to-air, brave1, ukr-odp]
author: "Andrey Kosynko"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Announces Grant Competitions for Air-to-Air Missiles and Domestic Radars

![Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet under camouflage net at an airfield in field conditions](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/30/minoborony-grantovye-konkursy-rakety-vozduh-vozduh-radary/minoborony-grantovye-konkursy-rakety-vozduh-vozduh-radary-1.webp)

## Key Points

- The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Digital Transformation, and Brave1 launched grant competitions for air-to-air missiles and Ukrainian radars
- The next stage of the program will be a grant competition for turbojet engines
- Defense Minister Khmara named ballistics, cheap cruise missiles, high-speed drones, and KABs as main threats
- Manufacturers are required to ensure efficiency, affordable cost, system compatibility, and scalability
- Startup Destinus has already produced over 1,750 Ruta missiles in Europe, setting a pace benchmark

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Brave1 foundation, has announced the launch of grant competitions for the development of air-to-air guided missiles and Ukrainian radar systems. The military department's press service reported this on October 30, 2026, as cited by RBC-Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Defense, the next stage of the program will be a separate grant competition for the development of turbojet engines. Thus, the state is building a consistent financing chain — from final combat assets to key components of power plants.

### Priorities: Drone Interception and Cost Reduction

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara explained that the main goal of the new competitions is to provide the Security and Defense Forces with effective means to counter air targets, reduce the cost of intercepting jet drones, and establish mass production of radars within the country. Khmara named ballistic missiles, cheap cruise missiles, high-speed drones, and guided aerial bombs (KABs) as the main Russian threats at the current stage. The systems under development are specifically designed to counter this spectrum of threats.

### Requirements for Domestic Manufacturers

The Ministry of Defense has formulated specific expectations for Ukrainian developers: creating their own navigation solutions, strengthening electronic warfare equipment, developing radars capable of detecting low-observable targets, and producing affordable and mass-scalable countermeasures. «Our requirements are clear: efficiency, affordable cost, system interoperability, and a sufficient volume of supplies. It is on these results that the joint work of the state, the military, and the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex must focus», Khmara emphasized. He named finding new solutions to counter KABs and reducing the effectiveness of their deployment as a separate task for manufacturers.

### Strategy of Asymmetric Impact

Commenting on the long-term strategy, the Minister of Defense stated: «Today our focus is countering Russian threats. But it is important to create innovative solutions that will allow us to act proactively and prevail. We need asymmetric impact. We need technologies that change the rules of the game in our favor». This phrasing indicates that grant competitions are viewed not only as an instrument to close current deficits, but also as a mechanism for forming technological superiority in niche segments.

### Context: Ruta Production as a Benchmark

The announcement of the competitions comes against the backdrop of already demonstrated results by the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex. It was previously reported that the Destinus startup produced over 1,750 Ruta cruise missiles in Europe. According to available data, the current production rate exceeds the monthly volume that the whole of Europe produced in a year before Russia's full-scale invasion. This example essentially sets the benchmark that the Ministry of Defense strives for in the air-to-air missile and radar system segments: mass, relatively cheap, and scalable production capable of compensating for the enemy's numerical superiority.

## Fact-Check & Sources

- [В Украине объявили конкурс на разработку управляемых ракет и радаров: детали](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayini-ogolosili-konkurs-rozrobku-kerovanih-1793368621.html) - Direct link to the Ministry of Defense press service. All Khmara quotes, the list of competitions, and the context regarding Destinus/Ruta match the primary source text.

## FAQ

### What specific grant competitions are being launched?

Competitions are being launched for the development of air-to-air guided missiles and Ukrainian radars. A grant competition for turbojet engines has been announced as the next step.

### Who are the organizers of the competitions?

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Brave1 foundation.

### What threats does the Ministry of Defense consider top priorities?

Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara named ballistic missiles, cheap cruise missiles, high-speed drones, and guided aerial bombs (KABs).

### What requirements are set for Ukrainian manufacturers?

Efficiency, affordable cost, system interoperability, sufficient supply volume, proprietary navigation solutions, enhanced electronic warfare, and radars to detect low-observable targets.