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Defense AI Center “A1”: Ministry of Defence accelerates AI integration into warfare

A drone in flight with a digital targeting interface overlay. On-screen text reads: “Accelerating AI integration into warfare.”
Accelerating AI integration to ensure our forces have a technological edge on the battlefield

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine is developing the Defense AI Center “A1” to accelerate AI integration in the military domain and shorten the path from battlefield experience to technological solutions.

Following its launch, the center focused on the following core areas: data processing, infrastructure development, and team building. Today, it operates as a fully-fledged structure integrating the development, research, and deployment of AI solutions.

“We focus on tools that provide a practical advantage on the battlefield,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov.

Key focus area of the Defense AI Center “A1”

The center's key focus area is data processing.

In parallel, the team’s development activities include:

  • modeling and simulation environments for testing solutions;
  • AI infrastructure to enable rapid deployment of AI systems;
  • tools that can be immediately integrated within military units.

The Ministry of Defence is developing unified approaches to ensuring their quality, standardization, protection, and use for AI training. This lays the foundation for accurate analysis, forecasting, and rapid decision-making on the battlefield.

Leadership with experience in AI projects

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Appointed as heads of the Defense AI Center “A1”:

  • Danylo Tsvok. Former Chief AI Officer at the Ministry of Digital Transformation and former Head of the WINWIN AI Center of Excellence. He oversaw the launch of key national AI projects, including Diia.AI, the national LLM, and the AI development strategy through 2030. In parallel, he worked on defense AI solutions and built partnerships with Big Tech companies.
  • Dmytro Ovcharenko. Former AI CTO at the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Technical Director of the WINWIN AI Center of Excellence. Under his leadership, teams launched state AI infrastructure, including AI Factory, and developed key AI solutions, including Diia.AI.

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“In partnership, they shaped key AI areas at the national level and worked on defense AI projects. Under their leadership, Ukraine rose by a record 13 positions in the global AI ranking within a year,” Mykhailo Fedorov emphasized.

Opportunities for partners to test AI technologies

Another dedicated area of the center’s activities is building partnerships. The Defense AI Center “A1” is being implemented with the support of the UK government. The Ministry of Defence is also expanding cooperation at the intergovernmental level and with the private sector.

“Today, Ukraine is an environment where technologies move through the cycle from idea to battlefield deployment at the fastest pace. This enables partners to rapidly test and scale solutions with us,” Mykhailo Fedorov underscored.

Ukraine is open to the joint development, pilot testing, and deployment of AI solutions with Ukrainian and international companies. This will help accelerate the development of technologies that ensure an advantage over the enemy.

If you have ideas for the center’s development, we encourage you to send them to: [email protected].

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