The country’s defence procurement marketplaces could soon include interceptor drones and drone warheads.  

Ukraine intends to expand its defence marketplace ecosystem to include a wider range of equipment, according to comments made by Arsen Zhumadilov, Director of Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency. 

Speaking at DSEI UK 2025 on 11 September, Zhumadilov responded to a question from DSEI Gateway on Ukraine’s plans to build on its existing defence procurement marketplaces, which include the Brave1 Market and DOT-Chain Defence.  

Launched in April 2025 and July 2025, respectively, the Brave1 Market and DOT-Chain Defence are online platforms run by the Ukrainian government that allow military end-users to purchase equipment from suppliers, acting much like Amazon.  

While both marketplaces already offer drones, electronic warfare equipment, and land robotic vehicles, Zhumadilov said Ukraine may extend the offering to include interceptor drones and “warheads for drones” in the future. 

The marketplace ecosystem will be developed to cover products for which there is both a competitive level of supply and an informed customer base, Zhumadilov added.  

For interceptor drones and drone warheads to be included in the marketplace, the Defense Procurement Agency “will have to make sure that there is a proper market structure in place”. 

Although, he did caveat that the barrier for entry for companies to submit their systems is “not a very high threshold, it’s not a very high barrier”.  

Success in the marketplace is dependent on how effective the equipment is though, Zhumadilov noted, as the end users make the decision on what equipment public funds are spent on. 

“The barrier for you to get to the marketplace is quite low, but for you to get orders, that's the job that is much more difficult”, Zhumadilov said.