On 21st May we held the Ukrainian Drone Defence Forum at the Royal United Services Institute in London in partnership with Kinstellar and with the support of D3 Venture Capital.
The Forum was convened to enhance the collaboration between Ukrainian and British drone manufacturers and technology firms to scale up drone and electronic warfare production – a top partnership priority.
We were pleased to cooperate with the UK Department for Business and Trade and the Ministry of Defence on the delivery of the event. The forum was also supported by the Ukrainian government and military, with representatives from the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - the drone sector’s ultimate client - clarifying Ukraine’s front line technology needs.
The Forum attracted over 240 participants, including more than 150 participants from the UK defence sector, and registration had to be closed well in advance of the event.
We were honoured to have as our keynote speaker the Chief of the UK Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. Major General Anna-Lee Reilly and other senior MOD and DBT officials described the UK government’s efforts to supply Ukraine with equipment and funding for drone development, as well other areas. Private sector representatives provided perspectives on their efforts supporting Ukraine, including BAE Systems, Babcock International, Palantir, Helsing, and Tetra Tech. We were glad to be joined by Haluk Bayraktar, whose eponymous drone has achieved cult status in Ukraine. Alan Mak MP, the UK Minister for Minister for Industry and Economic Security at the Department of Business and Trade closed the Forum, reaffirming the UK government’s commitment to supporting UK private sector investment in Ukraine.
To produce tangible outcomes D3 VC brought 15 hand-picked leading Ukrainian drone producers to London to create partnerships with drone sector members of ADS Group, the UK defence industry trade association. Curated by Eveline Buchatskiy, CEO and Founder of D3 VC, the Ukrainian and UK companies pitched their businesses in a Drone Demo, followed by extensive B2B engagement designed to ultimately expedite drone delivery at scale for Ukraine’s front-line forces.
We are grateful to the outstanding Sponsors of the Forum, namely Palantir, Helsing, Sigma Software Labs, Evolve Dynamics, Tetra Tech, FUIB and Red Hat.
