Andriy Dovbenko was invited to attend London Defence Conference Investment Forum in November 2025, focused on the theme: ‘Getting to 5%: Strengthening European Defence Investment.’ The day opened with a welcome from Iain Martin and a keynote from George Robertson, former Secretary General NATO, setting the stage for the strategic challenges ahead.
Some key messages Andriy addressed in his reflections post-event:
Some key messages Andriy addressed in his reflections post-event:
📌The importance of creating a ‘green corridor’ for IP transfer, allowing Ukrainian systems to be industrialised in the UK. While foreign firms are currently able to benefit from Ukraine’s battlefield insights and combat data, Ukrainian firms remain trapped inside a constrained domestic market, unable to raise capital and scale through NATO markets.
📌The absence of a formal B2B IP transfer mechanism is a major obstacle preventing UK investors from engaging in Ukrainian technology and integrating it into its own SDR priorities 🇺🇦🇬🇧
📌The UK MoD must acknowledge the importance of Ukrainian technologies as a strategic asset for British defence. To date, procurement has flowed primarily as aid, not as direct purchases for the UK Army.
📌Procurement pathways - similar to AUKUS Pillar II for rapid tech adoption - would anchor UK-Ukraine industrial integration. Without this, the UK risks losing access to the world's fastest-evolving defence ecosystem and pushing Ukrainian innovators toward existing demand signals in the US/EU ecosystems.
TechExchange was able to facilitate invitations to London Defence Conference for its cohort members, Vadym Burukin (Huless) and Oleksandr Khomiak (Drone Space Labs).
📌The absence of a formal B2B IP transfer mechanism is a major obstacle preventing UK investors from engaging in Ukrainian technology and integrating it into its own SDR priorities 🇺🇦🇬🇧
📌The UK MoD must acknowledge the importance of Ukrainian technologies as a strategic asset for British defence. To date, procurement has flowed primarily as aid, not as direct purchases for the UK Army.
📌Procurement pathways - similar to AUKUS Pillar II for rapid tech adoption - would anchor UK-Ukraine industrial integration. Without this, the UK risks losing access to the world's fastest-evolving defence ecosystem and pushing Ukrainian innovators toward existing demand signals in the US/EU ecosystems.
TechExchange was able to facilitate invitations to London Defence Conference for its cohort members, Vadym Burukin (Huless) and Oleksandr Khomiak (Drone Space Labs).