NATO Allied Command Transformation organised the competition with the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre. More than 60 applications were submitted, with nine finalists invited to present their proposals in Warsaw.
The Ukrainian team proposed an AI module intended to improve the autonomy and accuracy of attack systems. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence did not name the developer or release further technical details about the technology.
Czech company LPP Holding took first place with a long-range solution designed to operate with minimal external control. A Polish team finished second with a comprehensive concept for the pre-planned destruction of key airfield infrastructure.
The competition placed particular weight on autonomy, scalability and resistance to electronic warfare. Systems were also assessed on their ability to operate with limited or no access to navigation and communications networks.
Ukraine’s battlefield experience helped shape the evaluation of the proposals. Judges considered both the technical originality of each system and whether it could be used effectively under modern combat conditions.
Ukrainian members of the jury represented the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence. The group included personnel from Air Force Command, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the National Guard’s Omega unit and other elements of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.
NATO’s evaluators included representatives of Allied Commands and the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic. The winning systems will now undergo testing and combat testing to measure their effectiveness and determine whether they can be deployed on a wider scale.
