Mikhaylo Fedorov announced the first results of an experimental private air defense project: 27 enterprises from Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Zakarpattia and other regions have received the status of authorized business entities. One company has already prepared a team and shot down several drones — including Geran-2 and Zala. Teams are being formed at 13 enterprises.
How it works: not autonomy, but a franchise under military command
Private air defense is not an independent unit hunting drones across the region. Teams operate exclusively on their own enterprise territory and only under orders from the Air Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The military sets targets for them — according to available weapons and assigned tasks.
To enter the project, a company undergoes an SBU security check, coordinates with command the areas of operations and the composition of forces, after which it receives the right to purchase air defense equipment as an end consumer. Personnel training is conducted at certified centers with involvement of military experts. In Kharkiv region, a private team for the first time shot down a Shahed cruise missile at a speed exceeding 400 km/h.
The main question: who pays
Here the model is unconventional. Basic funding comes from the enterprises themselves, not the state budget. According to manufacturers' estimates, a minimum protection complex costs 4–5 million hryvnias. Some types of weapons are purchased by companies independently — they have received end consumer status.
At the same time, following updated rules in March 2026, an alternative emerged: military units can temporarily transfer air defense equipment and ammunition to enterprises — but only by individual decision of the Air Force Command regarding each specific request. If ammunition is expended during an attack, it is replenished through a simplified procedure — based on an act of actual expenses.
"We are opening the air defense market, creating competition: business and companies can develop private air defense and protect their own infrastructure"
Mikhaylo Fedorov, Defense Minister
What this means in practice
For enterprises, this is not only protection but also a new level of legal responsibility. Weapons remain de jure under military control, and violation of storage or accounting rules can entail criminal liability for officials. Company lawyers face new work: internal orders, changes to employment contracts, job descriptions for air defense team members.
The model is scaling up. In November 2025, the project launched; in March 2026 — it expanded its authority; now there are 27 participants instead of 24 a month ago. Fedorov calls the next step: increasing the number of intercepted targets and reducing response time.
But the key structural question remains open: if an enterprise finances its own protection independently, will it receive any tax or other incentives from the state — and if not, how sustainable will this "great business interest" be after the first serious bill for ammunition?
