Innovation Defends Freedom in Ukraine

2024 Defense Tech for Ukraine Delegation to Ukraine

In October-November 2024, Defense Tech for Ukraine (DTU) sent a delegation of 7 Americans and Europeans to Ukraine, with the goal of improving the quality and quantity of military technology produced by Ukrainian manufacturers.

In October-November 2024, Defense Tech for Ukraine (DTU) sent a delegation of 7 Americans and Europeans to Ukraine, with the goal of improving the quality and quantity of military technology produced by Ukrainian manufacturers.

Wins for Ukraine’s Defense

While in Ukraine, DTU met with 15 defense manufacturers (12 drone makers and 3 anti-drone factories) as well as 3 drone schools, 9 NGOs, 8 military units and numerous other groups and individual allies. Beyond just these important connections, dozens of opportunities to assist the Ukrainian war effort were identified. For example, the delegation shared cutting-edge technology to create unjammable and near-undetectable drones using fiber optic control systems:

Some of the major wins from DTU’s defense tech delegation to Ukraine:

• Improved the quality of the most common drone detector, the Tiny SA Ultra, helping save 

lives with this critical technology

• Shared innovative fiber optic control drone control technology with five rotary and fixed wing drone manufacturers. This cutting edge technology provides the Ukrainian military with unjammable, undetectable drones
  

The first Ukrainian combat-deployed fiber optic drone

• Fielded requests for three different American-made electronic components urgently needed by three different drone manufacturers. In all three cases, the manufacturers are unable to purchase sufficient quantity of these parts and need the assistance of an American firm to enable their full production capabilities
• Shared innovative fixed-wing drone technology amongst three disparate Ukrainian fixed-wing drone manufacturers who are not previously communicating. Each factory produces fixed-wing drones that have pros and cons to their designs. In connecting the owners/managers of the three manufacturers, the production lines of all three should improve in quality and quantity.

• Shared the advanced designs innovated by the Galician Guild of Drones with four other quadcopter drone manufacturers. These design innovations are easy to replicate with 3D printer technology and allow for much more effective FPV kamikaze drone capabilities

• Drone detectors – Compiled the available options and shared with 13 military units

• Provided two electronics testing organizations with sophisticated anti-drone detection capabilities:
  • Provided one  industry-standard TinySA drone detector to a anti-drone military unit
  • Provided other drone detector equipment, two DJI Mavic drones and an ork (Russian) FPV drone to a prominent Ukrainian academy, for their drone/anti-drone testing lab

Our Purpose in Ukraine

The DTU delegation was composed of American and European veterans, civilians and currently-serving soldiers. One of our members was a former soldier in the International Legion of Ukraine, where he helped defend the eastern city of Kharkiv against Russian attack in the early days of the full-scale invasion in 2022. All members of the delegation were and are united in the belief that supporting Ukraine is a duty for people anywhere who care about human rights, international law and the ability of people to choose their own destiny and freedoms. To that end, we considered how best to support the brave but outnumbered Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom. Should we remain in our home countries and there advocate for greater support for Ukraine? Should we focus on raising money to send life-saving equipment to the soldiers currently suffering at the front lines? Should we travel to Ukraine and physically take up arms to defend the nation from the Russian aggressor? We decided upon another way.

“A Small Soviet Army Cannot Defeat a Large Soviet Army”

Ukraine cannot simply fight harder than Russia. Russia’s Czarist, Soviet and recent pseudo-democratic leaders have proven over and over their fondness for endless sacrifice on the battlefield. As Joseph Stalin famously said, “Quantity has a quality all its own”, and that philosophy is reflected in the horrifyingly wasteful way Russian has historically conducted warfare. At this war’s front lines, Russia is estimated to be losing 1000-1200 soldiers per day, mainly in its infamous “meat assaults” – tactics borrowed wholesale from Wagner Group’s grim but effective methods. Ukraine cannot possibly match these bloody numbers. Instead of fighting harder, Ukraine must fight smarter.

The role of defense innovation

Every Ukrainian citizen knows someone currently serving in the military, and feels a personal stake in the fate of his or her country. Russian’s ceaseless attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure have served to erase the distance between the front-line soldiers and the civilians, leading to even more determination from civilians to support the war effort, much as Hitler’s efforts to bomb England in WW2 backfired and led to greater British public support. Every Ukrainian civilian takes a keen interest in the conduct of the war and is anxious for a way to better support the troops

In addition, Ukraine is a nation of entrepreneurs. The make-something-from-nothing spirit is incredibly strong in the country. This has resulted in thousands of workshops, schools and improvised factories being set up all over the country. In an extremely short time, abandoned schools, derelict factories and other empty facilities have been repurposed as manufacturing bases, training bases, barracks or other ways to support the war effort. Supplementing and surpassing the often-creaky official government-led efforts, privately-funded efforts to support the troops have become the critical lifeline that many military units rely heavily upon to stay effective…and stay alive. It’s this Can-Do spirit of civilian defense of their country that DTU’ delegation to Ukraine sought to harness and assist.

Force Multipliers

DTU’ delegation did not bring vast funds. We do not have governmental backing. We certainly did not bring the HIMARs, F16s, Bradleys or permission to use these weapons within Russia that the Ukrainians repeatedly requested. Instead we brought something more valuable: connections. It is our firm belief that international support is critical to the Ukrainian war effort. The world is on Ukraine’s side. But what does that mean? How does public sympathy translate into actual battlefield success? Human connections. Wars are not won with weapons, but with the determined application of people’s will, sometimes at the expense of their lives. DTU’ goal is to connect and amplify the Ukrainian people’s will, the yearning and determination of 44 million peoples to be free. To scale up this historical force for self-determination, it is necessary to connect the people of this country with those of their natural allies, especially the major countries of Germany, England and France. The major western nations are only vaguely aware of the threat Russia’s aggressions pose to their wellbeing, to their freedom, ultimately to their physical existence. It falls to small but effective groups like DTU to wake up these sleeping giants and quickly educate their citizens why Ukraine’s defense is essential to their own lives. One way to do this, while also making a measurable impact on the situation at the front lines, is to connect western engineers, investors, donors and other allies with Ukrainian manufacturers, in order to improve the quality and quantity of these life-saving tools for the defenders.

Defense Technology for the Victory

DTU’ delegation focused on improving the quality and quantity of defense technology in the hands of Ukraine’s defenders (the soldiers). We identified many ways to do this. Here are a few examples:

Drone detectors

Drone detectors are a relatively new concept to the battlefield. Much attention has been paid to drone jammers, but hard-won battlefield experience shows that jammers alone have many flaws, most of which a good detector can resolve.

As the Ork (Russian) drones grow increasingly sophisticated and hard to detect and destroy, drone jammers such as these will become increasingly important to save the lives of those in uniform. There is an opportunity for American engineers and other allies to jump in to solve technical and logistics problems to get more of these critical life-saving devices into the right hands.

Opportunities for American volunteers to help Ukraine’s defenders

Coordination of manufacturers

• Improve the quality of Ukraine’s homegrown drone detector options
• Connect the deputy head of Kyiv’s air defense with a source of free searchlights
• Create informational video content for 8 manufacturers

Opportunities

• Sharing of PCB manufacturing amongst various manufacturers
• Connection of drone innovators with FPV drone producers
• Connection of 3+ FW drone manus with each other
• Connection of other FPV drone manus

Requests

• PCB board manufacturing
• High frequency drone control systems
• Connection with International (esp American) FPV clubs for FPV part donations to Eng schools: 
• Medical supplies
• GPS chips
• Funding and guidance chips

More information about Ukraine’s Defense Manufacturers

DTU met many defense manufacturers in Ukraine. In order to draw attention to their noble efforts to defend their country, we made many videos promoting their products and identifying how Americans and Europeans can get involved to help. Here are the videos:

Kruk (Raven) Drone School & 3D Printing Factory

Click for video

One of the best-established and most reputable drone schools is Kruk (Raven)  UAV (Drone) Training Center in Kyiv – Patreon

In this video, DTU Executive Director Carl Larson explains some of the tools Kruk is 3D printing to help support the defenders.

Contact Kruk directly or through DTU at victory@defensetechforukraine.org to support them. Currently-serving Ukrainian soldiers interested in Kruk’s world-renown drone training programs should also reach out through Kruk’s website.

Kolo Fly Drone School and Factory

Click for video

Galician Guild of UAVs

Archer Spotlight Project

Kolo Fly Drone Training and Factory

Dart Fixed Wing Drones

Intelligent Labs

Unwave drone jammers and detectors

Remembering the Why

In addition to visiting defense manufacturers, DTU’s delegation also made time to remember and honor the defenders who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom in Ukraine and everywhere.

Carl Larson of DTU pays respect to the flags of fallen heroes in Kyiv. Click for video. 

Strong Connections for the Victory

Besides defense manufacturers, the DTU delegation also met dozens of military units, engineers, investors and donors who are helping make the Ukrainian victory possible. It’s especially positive to meet Ukrainian NGOs that are leading the country’s realignment towards the democratic, progressive west. DTU is honored to work closely with the strong and effective team at the Kyiv Defenders NGO.

To learn more about Kyiv Defenders, visit – kyivdefenders

The Value of Human Connection

The Defense Tech for Ukraine (DTU) team’s delegation to Ukraine in late 2024 reinforced our beliefs about Ukrainian determination to be free. These people will fight with drones, with guns, then with their bare hands to preserve their sovereignty. As Great Britain stood alone against the Nazi horde in 1941, now in 2024 the brave Ukrainian people bravely hold back the Russian onslaught. Those of us in the West fight apathy, fear, Russian propaganda and especially the self-destructive tendencies of the western public to avoid difficult decisions to stand up to evil. None of this matters. No matter who occupies the White House, chairs the EU or NATO, or supports or does not support Ukraine, we will continue this work. Our grandfathers successfully fought the German Nazis, now it is our time to fight the Russian Nazis. We will provide our funds, our time and our moral support. Most importantly, we will humbly learn from the Ukrainian example of how to stand up to evil without losing one’s soul. Slava Ukraini!

Disclaimer: All personnel traveling to Ukraine as part of the delegation paid for their own flights, lodging, food and all other expenses from their own funds. DTU and members received no financial benefit from sharing information and connections with Ukrainian manufacturers.