An Examination of Ukraine's Air Raid Siren Procurement
In 2025, Ukraine began a review of its procurement process for air raid siren systems, with an estimated total budget of 1.4 billion hryvnias. Contracts worth 528 million hryvnias have been signed to date. The market for these critical warning systems is dominated by the limited liability company 'Ukrzaliznytsiaavtomatyka', which secured contracts in four of the five largest procurement deals. Furthermore, systemic requirements found in tender documentation appear to potentially restrict market competition.
These upgrades are a vital national security priority, as air raid sirens sounded at least 19,033 times throughout 2025. To improve the alert network, state spending on repairs has surged annually:
- 2021 – 10 million hryvnias
- The first year of the full-scale war – 45 million hryvnias
- 2023 – 63 million hryvnias
- 2024 – 150 million hryvnias
- 2025 – 528 million hryvnias
Despite this significant investment, 42% of competitive tenders by expected value were either unsuccessful or canceled, while 5% of procurements are still ongoing.
Among the 54% of procedures that concluded with signed contracts, 15% of those agreements were later terminated. In 90% of cases, contracting authorities used a modified open tender process, while 10% of deals were arranged through direct agreements. On average, only 1.3 bidders participated in successful tenders for modernizing Ukraine's alert system.
Funding and Regional Procurement
The Kyiv region contracted the largest sum in 2025, at 139 million hryvnias. The Cherkasy region signed contracts worth 124 million hryvnias, Mykolaiv – 89 million, Vinnytsia – 51 million, and Chernivtsi – 45 million. The smallest procurement volume was recorded in the Zakarpattia region, at approximately 98 thousand hryvnias.
'Ukrzaliznytsiaavtomatyka' LLC is carrying out the modernization in:
- Kyiv region – for 133 million hryvnias
- Cherkasy – for 120 million hryvnias
- Mykolaiv – for 86 million hryvnias
- Vinnytsia – for 49 million hryvnias
In the Chernivtsi region, the contract for 44 million hryvnias was awarded to 'Meteor IT' LLC. Project implementation deadlines vary:
- For Kyiv region – until August 31, 2026
- For Cherkasy and Chernivtsi – until the end of 2027
- For Mykolaiv – until October 31, 2026
- For Vinnytsia – until August 2027
The total value of contracts signed by 'Ukrzaliznytsiaavtomatyka' LLC since 2023 amounts to 433 million hryvnias, of which 7.1 million hryvnias was spent on design documentation. In 2025, the company accounted for 74% of the total value of all contracts for siren system modernization services. The company is registered in Kyiv and is a distributor of the Polish Digitex warning systems. Notably, before the full-scale invasion, 'Ukrzaliznytsiaavtomatyka' LLC had only three public contracts totaling roughly 16.5 thousand hryvnias.
As part of a Kremenchuk tender, a contract worth 61 million hryvnias with 'Compass Engineering' LLC is planned. The procurement process has revealed various requirements, including for ISO certificates, which may affect competition. In Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Mykolaiv regions, the possession of a package of 7 ISO certificates was confirmed, while in Chernivtsi region this requirement remained unmet. This highlights the need to refine procurement procedures to ensure greater transparency and competitiveness in Ukraine's warning system market.
The analysis of Ukraine's air raid siren procurement situation underscores the importance of reforming tender procedures to foster a more open and competitive market.