Ukrainian forces receive 1,000 FPV drones in first rapid deliveries via pilot weapons marketplace
Ukrainian front-line units serving in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv regions have received the first 1,000 first-person-view (FPV) drones ordered through the newly piloted DOT Chain Defense Marketplace, Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) said in a press release on Aug. 13.
The DPA and its sister agency, the State Logistics Operator (DOT), launched the DOT Chain Defense marketplace in summer 2025 to streamline drone deliveries to the front. The program allows military units to directly order drones tailored to their needs.
The military placed its first orders through the DOT Chain Defense marketplace, which is currently operating in pilot mode, on July 31, the DPA reported. Since then, 1,000 FPV drones have already reached the front lines with exceptional speed.
According to the DPA, the delivery time took less than two weeks — four times shorter than deliveries via the standard procurement procedure.
The marketplace received 43 orders for 6,918 drones (both FPVs and bombers) in the first two weeks of the pilot program, the DPA said.
"The fastest delivery from order to receipt was only six days," DPA Director Arsen Zhumadilov said. "Every day that we reduce from the moment of application to delivery to the front is saving lives and allows for faster adaptation to changes on the battlefield."
The pilot version of the DOT Chain Defense marketplace is available to 12 brigades operating in the most combat-heavy areas of the front. Units received special training on system features and procedures for placing orders from combat zones.
Drone warfare has become a defining feature of Russia's war against Ukraine, with both sides increasingly relying on unmanned systems for reconnaissance and strikes. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reports that over 95% of drones used at the front as of April 2025 are domestically made.
