Interceptor drones in the lead: Ukraine orders more than 590,000 drones via Brave1 Market

Since the start of the year, the Ukrainian armed forces have ordered more than 590,000 drones via the state procurement platform Brave1 Market – and for the first time, interceptor drones rank ahead of classic first-person view (FPV) combat drones. The figures show how much the requirements on the battlefield are changing and how Ukraine is aligning its procurement accordingly.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, Brave1 Market received orders from military units for more than 590,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) between January and September 2026. Since the beginning of the year, the average monthly order value has more than doubled.

Above all, the types of drones in demand have shifted significantly. Interceptor drones now form the largest order category, followed in second place by multicopter FPV kamikaze drones.

Why interceptor drones are gaining importance

The reason is that Russian reconnaissance and attack drones pose an ever greater threat. Ukraine is therefore increasingly relying on specialised interception systems designed to engage enemy drones as cheaply as possible.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence distinguishes between two groups: interceptor drones against Russian reconnaissance UAV and systems developed specifically to combat Shahed attack drones.

The second group is becoming even more important since Russia has also been using faster jet-powered Shahed variants. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on 15 September that a new Ukrainian interceptor drone had been successfully tested against this threat. At the same time, he stressed that further technical improvements were needed.

The other drone categories are also developing dynamically. Orders grew most strongly for fixed-wing kamikaze drones, demand for which peaked at six times the level at the start of the year.

Measured by total order value, however, bomber drones were in the lead. Among the most expensive categories were so-called mothership drones, which can carry and deploy smaller UAV.

Points for combat successes

Brave1 Market is linked to the Ukrainian ePoints system – a special feature of the platform. Military units collect points there for verified combat successes, which they can later use to procure new equipment.

The assessment takes into account, for example, confirmed hits on enemy targets and reconnaissance missions, as well as deployments of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) for logistics and the evacuation of wounded personnel.

Via Brave1 Market, the points can be exchanged for drones, UGV and electronic warfare systems.

Ukraine's approach is therefore unusual: units that operate particularly successfully gain more leeway in procuring new equipment. Manufacturers, in turn, learn how their products are actually used – for example, which systems are deployed particularly often and how many missions they fly.

In addition to procurement with points, units can also buy with their own funds. At present, individually configured drones can only be ordered this way.

Billions in volume, faster delivery

Economically, the system carries considerable weight. As early as June, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stated that more than 400 military units were taking part in the revised ePoints programme.

In less than a year, their orders added up to equipment worth more than 33 billion hryvnias (around 656 million euros).

With more than five billion hryvnias (around 99 million euros), June alone reached the highest monthly figure since the programme was launched.

At the same time, delivery times have been shortened. According to the ministry, products in stock now take an average of only eight days to deliver, compared with ten to 14 days previously.

The Ukrainian model finds imitators

The way combat experience, procurement and industrial development are linked here is now also attracting international interest.

In July 2026, Airbus Defence and Space became the first Western industrial partner to join the platform. Canada is also taking the Ukrainian Brave1 model as a template for building its own military drone marketplace.

The current order figures thus prove two things: demand for unmanned systems continues to rise rapidly, and on the battlefield specialised interception systems are increasingly coming to the fore compared with offensive FPV drones.

In response, Ukraine has created a procurement model in which operational data, demand and industrial production are more closely linked – with the aim of shorter development and delivery cycles.