NATO and Ukraine activate next steps for UNITE – Brave NATO innovation programme

Following its announcement in November 2025, NATO and Ukraine have unveiled the next steps for the first Ukraine-NATO Innovation, Technology and Engineering (UNITE) - Brave NATO competition.

NATO and Ukraine will fund a collective €10 million in contract awards to teams of Allied and Ukrainian companies. Innovators from across the Alliance and Ukraine can now access the UNITE-Brave NATO web portal on Brave1's website.

The portal features Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) and Air Defence challenges for Allied and Ukrainian innovators to tackle together, as well as broader information about the programme. Companies can now register for matchmaking on the portal and teams will use it to submit their joint proposals when the competition window opens in spring. Companies from NATO nations interested in applying to the programme should contact their respective NATO delegations to check their eligibility for contracts.

NATO and Ukraine will jointly evaluate the project proposals and contract awards will be issued by NCIA in line with the NATO Procurement Opportunity page.

The UNITE - Brave NATO programme will feature at the upcoming NATO-Ukraine Defence Innovators Forum on 1-2 June 2026 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In addition to the first competition, work is underway for the further UNITE - Brave NATO competitions to solve today's hardest military innovation challenges and foster deeper connections between our innovation ecosystems - with plans to scale UNITE - Brave NATO to €50 million.

Funding for Allied companies under UNITE - Brave NATO is provided by NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine (CAP). Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation sponsors activities for Ukrainian companies.