To scale up air defense without straining the front, Ukraine enlists business. In under year nearly 100 companies have joined, their crews downing 60-plus targets

Ukraine has enlisted the help of nearly 100 private companies to bolster its air defense capabilities, enabling them to shoot down over 60 targets in less than a year. The Defense Ministry introduced an experimental program allowing businesses to operate their own air defenses, granting them authority to form their own crews and conduct air defense operations.

This initiative emerged as Russian drones relentlessly struck Ukrainian factories, warehouses, and power sites, rendering it impossible for the state to shield every target. The program has expanded rapidly from 24 companies in April to nearly 100 now, with crews from these enterprises already destroying a significant number of aerial threats.

The companies involved span critical infrastructure, state entities, and private firms across the economy. Under a Cabinet resolution dated 19 November 2025, the program mobilizes enterprise resources to support Ukraine's defense against air threats. Civilian crews under Air Force command, these teams do not operate independently but rather collaborate with the Air Force.

Approximately 50 air-defense groups have been formed, with six combat missions already underway. The remaining groups are in training or completing preparations. The Air Force sets targets for each group based on its weapons and tasks, and jointly with the company, defines its sector, personnel, and equipment. Enterprise crews handle some of the costs, while others may acquire weaponry using their own funds or request support from military stocks.

This arrangement forms part of a multi-layered defense strategy aimed at safeguarding industrial capacity, critical infrastructure, and civilian personnel from systematic drone attacks.