The 5 cases show 5 structures: an industrial partnership, a joint venture, a company's own factory, an intergovernmental plant and ministry partnerships.
UUT, a Ukrainian ground-robot maker, kept its design and signed with Haulotte, a French company, for production and service. Production in France is planned for January 2027.
Rheinmetall has run a joint venture in Ukraine since October 2023. Its ammunition plant shows how site selection and permits set the schedule.
Quantum Systems started with a modest factory and grew local content step by step.
A russian missile strike damaged Baykar's nearly finished plant in the Kyiv region in August 2025. Plan protection and schedule buffers from the start.
Palantir, a US software company, entered through memoranda and partnerships with ministries. Brave1 Dataroom, where Ukrainian developers train military AI, is built on its software.
Below are 5 cases, one for each structure. For each one: who took part, when, how it was built, what works now and where it slowed.
Our team took these cases from public sources: company releases, independent media and our own research.
Case | Structure | Since | What works now |
UUT and Haulotte | Industrial partnership | June 2026 | Serial production in Ukraine. Production in France planned for January 2027 |
Rheinmetall | Joint venture, 51 percent | October 2023 | A repair hub in western Ukraine since June 2024 |
Quantum Systems | Its own factory | April 2024 | 40 to 80 Vector aircraft a month across its Ukrainian network |
Baykar | Its own plant under a Ukraine-Türkiye agreement | Agreement signed February 2022 | No independent report confirms production as of September 2026 |
Palantir | Memoranda and partnerships with ministries | Summer 2022 | Brave1 Dataroom is built on its software. More than 100 Ukrainian companies had access by June 2026 |
Who: Ukrainian Unmanned Technologies (UUT), maker of the Ravlyk ground robot, and Haulotte, a French maker of lifting equipment.
When: an industrial partnership agreement signed on 17 June 2026 at Eurosatory in Paris. It took about 4 months from the first meeting to the agreement.
Structure: UUT keeps the design and technology. Haulotte provides production capacity, logistics and service. Forbes Ukraine reported that MergeWave Capital, which powers DARC, represented UUT.
What works now: Ravlyk is in serial production in Ukraine. Haulotte plans to start producing it at its Lorette plant in France in January 2027.
Where it slowed: it is too early to say.
What it means for you: a foreign manufacturer can produce a Ukrainian product that is already in serial use, while the Ukrainian company keeps the design.
UUT and Haulotte sign their industrial partnership agreement, June 2026.
Who: Rheinmetall, Germany, and JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry, the state defence group formerly called Ukroboronprom.
Structure: a joint venture in which Rheinmetall holds 51 percent and the Ukrainian side 49 percent.
When: the joint venture has operated since 18 October 2023. A second joint venture, for 155mm ammunition, was agreed in a memorandum in February 2024.
What works now: a maintenance and repair hub in western Ukraine, open since June 2024, where Marder vehicles are overhauled.
Where it slowed: Rheinmetall contracted an ammunition plant in July 2024, with production planned within 24 months. The site was changed in November 2025, and Ukraine allocated a new one in January 2026. Construction had not started by mid-January, and Defense Express expects production in 2027.
What it means for you: plan extra time for site selection and permits. In Ukraine they come before construction and set the timeline.
Tell us what you make. We will tell you which structure fits and what it takes.
or email partnerships@darcdefence.com
Who: Quantum Systems, a German maker of reconnaissance drones.
When: the Ukrainian factory opened on 18 April 2024. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Ukraine's Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshyn attended.
Structure: its own factory, with a planned investment of up to EUR 6 million over 2 years. The target was about 100 staff and 1,000 aircraft a year.
What worked:
Local engineering. By May 2025, according to the company, all fuselage parts for its Vector aircraft were made in Ukraine. Ukrainian engineers made them stronger and about 250 grams lighter.
Volume. The Ukrainian network now builds 40 to 80 Vector aircraft a month.
The channel units use. Vector has been on Brave1 Market, the online marketplace where Ukrainian units order equipment, since August 2025. Front-line units buy it directly.
Reinvestment. Quantum Systems took a stake in the Ukrainian startup Frontline. It plans 2 more joint ventures under Build with Ukraine, which funds Ukrainian production lines in partner countries.
Where it slowed: public sources show no delays. The company does not publish its Ukrainian revenue.
Since then: the company raised EUR 160 million in May 2025 and was valued at USD 8 billion in July 2026.
What it means for you: a modest, staged investment can lead to local production and direct sales to units.
Quantum Systems Vector in Ukrainian service. Photo: ArmyInform, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Who: Baykar, through its Ukrainian company Avia Ventures, under an intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Türkiye.
When: the agreement was signed on 3 February 2022 and ratified by Ukraine's parliament on 13 December 2022. Baykar said construction of the plant in the Kyiv region began in early 2024.
Structure: a plant owned and funded by Baykar. The company put the investment at about USD 100 million across a plant, a service centre and an office.
What works now: no independent report confirms production in Ukraine as of September 2026.
Where it slowed: in October 2024 the plant was reported 80 percent built, with completion planned for August 2025. On 28 August 2025 a russian missile strike damaged the nearly finished plant. Baykar said it would rebuild.
What it means for you: a large, announced plant is a visible target. Budget for physical protection and schedule buffers from the start.
5. Palantir: software inside government systems
Who: Palantir Technologies, a US maker of data analysis software.
When: work with the Ukrainian government started in summer 2022. By December 2022, Palantir had an office in Kyiv.
Structure: memoranda and partnerships with ministries. The Ministry of Digital Transformation signed a memorandum in May 2023. The Ministry of Economy signed a demining partnership agreement in March 2024, after a pilot in 2023.
What it took: Palantir hired Ukrainian engineers to adapt its software and work with officials.
What works now: since January 2026, Ukrainian developers have trained military AI on battlefield data in Brave1 Dataroom, a secure environment built on Palantir software. By June 2026, more than 100 Ukrainian companies had access.
Where it slowed: public sources show no delays.
What it means for you: a software company can enter through partnerships with ministries. At this level, it is a partnership with the state, so the state has to take part. In our view, an integration this deep was unique to its moment, and Ukraine now puts more weight on localisation. If your software is simpler and needs less data, you can try to enter without a ministry partnership. Either way, plan for a local team that adapts the product with Ukrainian users.
People in the country. In our research, the companies that reached a lasting position had technical staff in Ukraine.
A clear structure. Each company chose one: a partnership, a joint venture, its own plant or agreements with ministries.
Time to plan. Production and permits take longer than signing.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the site. Rheinmetall's joint venture started in October 2023, and its repair hub opened in June 2024. A new plant takes longer: Rheinmetall's ammunition plant, contracted in July 2024, had not started construction by January 2026.
Yes. Quantum Systems opened its own Ukrainian factory in April 2024. Baykar said it began building its own plant in the Kyiv region in early 2024.
Site selection, permits and physical protection. Rheinmetall changed the site of its ammunition plant, and a russian missile strike damaged Baykar's plant before it opened.
It depends on what you want from Ukraine: revenue, a production base or proof for other markets. How to Find and Validate a Ukrainian Defence Manufacturing Partner compares the options.
Guides
We partner with scientists, researchers, and technical founders at the earliest stages. Often before product exist. Through university networks, research labs, and communities.
Case Studies
We partner with scientists, researchers, and technical founders at the earliest stages. Often before product exist. Through university networks, research labs, and communities.
Guides
We partner with scientists, researchers, and technical founders at the earliest stages. Often before product exist. Through university networks, research labs, and communities.
