// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Uforce say to its date? You've got a pulling effect on me.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Defence technology |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
Key people | Oleg Rogynskyy (CEO) Oleksiy Honcharuk (Board Chairman) Ben Wallace (Board Member)[1] |
| Products | Magura USV, Nemesis UAV, Lyut UGV, Khyzhak, R18, Sunray, SICH/C2 |
| Website | uforce |
Uforce is a Ukrainian-founded defence technology company that develops and integrates combat-proven unmanned systems across the sea, air, and land domains.[2][3] The company was co-founded by Oleg Rogynskyy and Oleksiy Honcharuk, while former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace joined its board at inception.[2][3][4]
In March 2026, Uforce raised $50 million at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, becoming Ukraine's first defence-technology unicorn.[4][5][6] Its portfolio includes the Magura[7] uncrewed surface vessel, the Nemesis strike UAV, the Lyut ground combat system, and the SICH/C2 command-and-control platform.[2][8]
History
[edit]Ukraine as a proving ground
[edit]Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, created conditions for the rapid development and iteration of autonomous military systems. Ukrainian engineers developed, deployed, and adapted platforms across sea, air, and land domains under active combat conditions.[2]
Background
[edit]Oleg Rogynskyy previously founded People.ai, an enterprise AI company that reached a valuation of $1.1 billion.[4] Following the invasion, he established Freedom Fund, a defence-technology investment vehicle focused on autonomous weapons systems.[2]
Oleksiy Honcharuk served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from August 2019 to March 2020. After leaving government, he joined Stanford University as a visiting scholar, and later returned to Ukraine after the start of the full-scale invasion. He subsequently served as adviser to the Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces and as Chair of the Supervisory Board of Aerorozvidka.[3][9]
Formation
[edit]Rogynskyy and Honcharuk first met in San Francisco in 2020. Their cooperation in the field of Ukrainian defence technology led to the formation of Uforce, structured around the teams behind the Magura and Nemesis platforms. Sir Ben Wallace was invited to join the board.[2][3]
Incorporation and launch
[edit]UFORCE Global Limited was incorporated in England and Wales on 9 January 2025.[10] The company publicly launched on 5 March 2026, when Bloomberg first reported its funding round.[4] The launch received international coverage, including in Bloomberg, Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC, The Atlantic, and Handelsblatt.[4][2][11][12][13][14]
Key people
[edit]Oleg Rogynskyy
[edit]Rogynskyy is a Ukrainian-born entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. Before Uforce, he founded People.ai, which raised more than $200 million and reached a valuation of $1.1 billion.[4]
Oleksiy Honcharuk
[edit]Honcharuk served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from August 2019 to March 2020. He later worked with Ukrainian defence and unmanned-systems initiatives and became board chairman of Uforce.[3][9]
Ben Wallace
[edit]Sir Ben Wallace served as the UK's Secretary of State for Defence from 2019 to 2023 and joined Uforce's board at the time of the company's launch.[3]
Products and platforms
[edit]Uforce describes itself as a prime integrator of autonomous combat systems, unifying combat-tested platforms under an open-architecture command layer compatible with NATO standards.[15]
Sea domain
[edit]Air domain
[edit]Land domain
[edit]Counter-UAS
[edit]- Sunray — a laser counter-UAS system.[15]
Command and control
[edit]- SICH/C2 — a multi-domain C2 and autonomy platform.[15]
In March 2026, Uforce also introduced Bucha, a middle-strike-class kamikaze drone with a range of up to 200 km.[16][17]
Strategy
[edit]Economics of deterrence
[edit]According to the company, autonomous systems can impose disproportionately high costs on adversaries at a fraction of the cost of traditional defence systems.[13][15]
Non-ITAR positioning
[edit]Uforce has described its UK incorporation as allowing the company to operate outside the scope of US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), within the framework of the UK–Ukraine 100-year Partnership Agreement.[3][18]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Ben Wallace to join defence-focused investment firm". Financial Times. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "This New Company Will Build Ukraine's Deadly Drone Boats For Western Militaries". Forbes. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "UFORCE launches in UK with seed funding". UK Defence Journal. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ukraine Battlefield Tech Firm UFORCE Nears $1 Billion Valuation". Bloomberg. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ Ingrid Lunden (5 March 2026). "Uforce raises $50M at a $1B+ valuation to build defence tech for Ukraine". Resilience Media. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Uforce Hits $1B Valuation, Becoming Ukraine's First Defense Tech Unicorn". United24 Media. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Marine Drone Found Off the Coast of Greece Is Not a Magura". Militarnyi. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Andrii Konyk (15 March 2026). "Ukrainian company unveils kamikaze drone with 200km strike range". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 "$50 Million for Anti-Shahed Systems: Ukrainian Startup UForce Goes Global". Hvylya. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "UFORCE GLOBAL LIMITED". Companies House. GOV.UK. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Phones 'Ringing Off the Hook' for Ukraine Defense Firms as Mideast Seeks Help". The New York Times. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "'The phone is ringing off the hook' — Drone defense tech CEO". CNBC. 11 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- 1 2 "The Glaring Oversight in the U.S. War Plan". The Atlantic. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Dieses Start-up will ukrainische Drohnen weltweit verkaufen". Handelsblatt (in German). 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "UFORCE official press release". UFORCE. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Британсько-українська компанія UFORCE створила дрон-камікадзе «Буча»". dev.ua (in Ukrainian). 15 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "UFORCE створила дрон-камікадзе «Буча» класу «middle strike»". Militarnyi (in Ukrainian). 15 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Booz Allen's venture arm goes across the pond for its newest investment". Washington Technology. 11 March 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.