How to get a grant for the production of UAVs and other Defense Tech developments?

There are many grant programs for production, including Defense Tech development. A prospective applicant, being either an FOP, a legal entity, or an individual, may submit a grant application for one of the current programs if they wish to start or scale up their own production of developments that will be useful in military affairs.

One of the optimal options will be to apply for grant programs specially created to support startups, Defense Tech developments, within the framework of state projects (for example, Brave1, grant support from the Ukrainian Startup Fund), international initiatives (for example, programs from the Western NIS Enterprise Fund), as well as on the state program from “yeRobota” as for the production of the processing industry.

We suggest considering each of the proposed options.

1. Special government programs for the production of UAVs, other Defense Tech developments, innovations (the average amount of funding reaches $25,000-$50,000)

As a rule, programs created at the initiative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine are offered providing funding for existing development (in particular Brave1).

Important conditions for obtaining financing are the applicant's registration as a business entity, successful completion of a military examination of the finished development to determine the current level of readiness of the development for further use for military purposes.

The applicant's business reputation can also be checked, in particular in terms of credit debt, tax obligations, criminal or administrative liability, to ensure the grantor's integrity and reliability of the person.

Current programs for financing technical startups (including for use for military purposes) from the Ukrainian Startup Fund provide for the possibility of receiving grants by business entities for both ready-made development and future products “on paper”.

As for any other start-up, under the terms of this grantor, a person must prepare a technical task, which describes the composition of the development team, their functions during the creation of the development and its implementation, provide information about their own experience in this field and qualifications.

For a professional presentation of a startup idea, a person also needs to prepare a Pitch Deck, briefly describing the project's mission and vision, target audience, market size, financial and investment plan, etc.

2. 80/20 Co-Funding UAV Production Government Grant Program from eJobs for the Manufacturing Industry (up to $400,000 in funding)

An applicant who is ready to register a sole proprietorship or a legal entity and engage in the production of drones can receive a grant of up to 8,000,000 hryvnias by fulfilling all the conditions of this program.

In particular, depending on the amount of the grant that the person wishes to receive, it is necessary to officially employ from 5 to 25 people, to conduct activities for 3 years from the moment of receiving the funds, to have an own contribution that will cover 20% of the costs of project implementation (the grant can reimburse only 80% of the cost). There is also a clear requirement regarding what grant funds can be used for, namely: equipment for UAV production, its assembly and transportation.

The applicant's business reputation will also be subject to verification, so a person wishing to submit a grant application must make sure of a sufficient credit rating, the absence of tax debts at the time of application, and the absence of criminal or administrative liability in order to avoid automatic rejection.

3. International programs for innovations for the production of UAVs, other Defense Tech developments (on average, the amount of funding can reach 500,000-800,000 dollars)

Citizens can apply for funding from international donors, including the Western NIS Enterprise Fund. Entrepreneurs who can demonstrate the innovativeness of their own development can receive a grant, priority can also be given to those persons who have previously received funding or attracted investments from third parties.

An important condition in compliance with the terms of international grant programs is the provision of activity reports and targeted fundraising to the grantor, after receiving them. Often, the representatives of the grantor may also request reporting on the achievement of the desired results of activities described by the applicant in the Pitch Deck, business plan for the project (in an arbitrary form).

Conclusions.

The production of UAVs and other Defense Tech developments can attract funding both at the state and international level. Depending on the program, there are different requirements for the applicant, development, stages of the competition.

Specialists of the “Prikhodko and Partners” law firm are ready to provide their advice, select the appropriate grant program and provide support for the interested client.