So You Want to Be a MilTech Millionaire?

Controlled exports of Ukrainian defense technologies are likely to become fully operational in the near future. This year, the government launched a special mechanism allowing Ukrainian manufacturers to export finished products under defined conditions while maintaining the priority of supplying Ukraine’s Defense Forces. One of the requirements is that a portion of the revenue generated from export deals must be reinvested into the development of Ukraine’s defense-industrial base.There is no doubt that this is an important step. However, at this stage, it merely opens the door. Taking Ukrainian defense technology to the global level is a much more complex and challenging task. And this is where a problem emerges for which there are far fewer ready-made solutions.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Ukraine has successful homegrown products carrying the “Battle-tested” or “Battle-proven in Ukraine” label. Foreign partners are genuinely interested in them. Most importantly, these technologies were developed and tested in the conditions of a real war. Ukrainian engineers and manufacturers possess unique battlefield experience that most other countries simply do not have.At the same time, we have yet to develop a similarly strong and competitive capability when it comes to selling these products on the international defense market. This is the challenge we need to accept, overcome, and ultimately turn into a success. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Fast-Tracks Interceptors for Jet-Powered Shahed Kyiv also plans to involve private businesses in producing, supplying and configuring selected air defense systems. The best Ukrainian product can lose to a worse oneThis is probably one of the most uncomfortable realities Ukrainian manufacturers have to take into account. A particular technology may have performed exceptionally well on the battlefield and proven its effectiveness. But that alone is not enough for the international market.A foreign customer or investor may be willing to purchase the product. But before doing so, they will ask perfectly logical and pragmatic questions:Is there serial production? Whose components are used? Does the product have NATO codification? What about maintenance and technical support? Who will be responsible for the product’s performance five years from now?For a Ukrainian soldier using the product here and now to destroy the enemy, these issues may seem secondary because the system works and accomplishes its combat mission today. For an international contract, however, these very details can become decisive.That is why, in my view, Ukrainian manufacturers need to move from the mindset of “we have the technology” to the principle of “we have a product ready for an international lifecycle.”That is a major difference.Over the past several years, Ukraine’s defense-industrial sector has developed in an environment where technologies evolve faster than technical standards can be written.A system can appear on the battlefield, receive dozens of comments from military users within weeks, undergo modernization, and return to service in a significantly improved form.In other words, the cycle of development → combat deployment → feedback → modernization has become one of the key competitive advantages of Ukrainian defense tech.Yet this is where the paradox emerges.What is an advantage in wartime is not necessarily an advantage in international procurement. An international customer wants stability. They need to know that the product they purchase today will continue to be supported tomorrow. This creates a new task for Ukrainian manufacturers: to transform the speed of Ukrainian innovation into a systematic international product.We can roughly describe this journey as: combat-proven → export-ready → scalable → globally competitive.Ukraine is already outperforming many countries at the first stage. The next three stages are our work for the years ahead.When a defense company comes to me and says, “We want to export,” I usually want to ask a counter-question: “Where exactly?”The answer is often Europe, NATO, or the Middle East. But that is not an answer. Each region has its own defense markets, customers, procurement procedures, localization requirements, and regulatory frameworks.Even if a technology is objectively needed in a particular country, that does not mean the Ukrainian manufacturer knows how to enter that country’s procurement system.Why? It is simple. A company can spend months on presentations, exhibitions, and meetings without answering the most basic question: Who exactly is our customer in this country, and how does that customer actually procure products like ours?In my view, what Ukrainian defense businesses need today is not necessarily another sales manager. They need market intelligence.Unfortunately, the same thing happens in the opposite direction. When an international company with a strong product enters Ukraine, it often does not fully understand how to operate here.A foreign manufacturer may have strong technology, significant production capabilities, and extensive experience working with military customers in NATO countries. Yet after several months of trying to enter the Ukrainian market, the manufacturer encounters the realities of doing business in Ukraine.Questions quickly arise:What is the procurement procedure? What documents are required? Who can serve as a local partner? How should delivery be organized? Can the product be tested in Ukraine?Another – perhaps one of the most important – aspect that foreign manufacturers often fail to take into account or underestimate is that Ukraine is not simply a sales market.It is a military-technological environment where a product can be tested extremely quickly against the realities of modern warfare.When we are talking about a radar, electronic warfare system, air defense solution, unmanned platform, complex communications system, or other sophisticated defense product, the processes that follow delivery include: training, integration, technical support, repair, upgrades, and modernization.This is where both Ukrainian and international customers evaluate more than just the product. They evaluate the company’s ability to remain a partner throughout the entire lifecycle of the system.To achieve this, manufacturers need to build their own international business infrastructure – or work with companies capable of providing it and serving as an infrastructure gateway to a particular market.This is one of the key challenges and priorities ahead: working at this intersection and connecting capabilities, markets, and partners.The fundamental question is therefore not whether cooperation in both directions is possible. The real question is how professionally we can organize this interaction. The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.