At the IRON DEMO 2025 exhibition, young teams showcased innovative technological solutions for military equipment. The best projects received financial support for further development of their ideas.
The winner was the smart electronic warfare system "Puhach", capable of detecting and neutralizing enemy drones. This system is based on software that jams key frequencies of hostile UAVs. The complex can be deployed on various platforms, including vehicles and can be carried by infantry.
The second place was awarded to an innovative thrust block for missiles, enhancing the effectiveness of combat rocket launches. This concerns a detonation-rotary engine that allows for a fuel savings of up to 25%.
The engine operates on an explosive-rotary principle, enabling the combination of kinetic and reactive thrust. The development was carried out by specialists from Lviv Polytechnic.
Among the drawbacks of this engine are the complexity of adjusting the flight path and installation instability. Nevertheless, due to the fuel savings and maintaining high speeds, it allows for longer flights. Furthermore, it is simple and inexpensive to produce.
Similar technologies are actively being researched in the USA and China. In the USA, they plan to equip their fourth-generation fighters with detonation-rotary engines.
The third place was awarded to a relay for FPV drones of various modifications, which is already being used in combat conditions in the Pokrovsk direction. It helps maintain stable communication in complex combat situations thanks to a directional antenna that adjusts its direction toward the attack UAV.
Deputy Oleksa Voznyak from the Lviv City Council states, "The city council has long supported defense companies, providing vouchers of 2 million UAH for those creating innovative developments and 1 million UAH for companies looking to scale their solutions. Recently, we initiated new support for early-stage developments".
According to him, grants can be awarded even to projects at a TRL-3 technological readiness level, meaning at the concept and drawing stages. The Lviv City Council allocates 300,000 UAH for first place, 200,000 UAH for second place, and 150,000 UAH for third place.
Overall, in 2024-2025, the Lviv territorial community issued 92 grants for defense developments, totaling 79.7 million UAH.
"The funds can be used for purchasing components, paying engineers, conducting tests, etc. This is all necessary to create a prototype and test it," emphasized the head of the IRON cluster, Volodymyr Cherniuk.