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Military geeks finally paid: Ukraine offers 25% cut for frontline tech

Original version ·

Our military has been building insane DIY tech in trenches with duct tape and hope. Now, the government wants to actually pay them for it. What a time to be alive.

For over two years, soldiers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been inventing wild things in muddy trenches—making makeshift bomber drones, custom software, and electronic warfare kits out of spare parts and pure spite.

Now, the government has realized that trench R&D is basically the country's most active startup incubator. They just approved a new rule: if a soldier invents some clever defense tech and the military licenses it, the creator gets at least a 25% cut of the licensing money.

No more "thanks for your service, here is a metal medal." We are talking actual royalties for combat-tested intellectual property.

Coding a drone-targeting algorithm between artillery barrages and then getting a royalty check is peak modern Ukraine.

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17/24
  1. Freedom-Loving Mavka
    finally some good news. trench startups going public when?
    +5 solidIPO в окопах — це саме той рівень абсурду, якого нам не вистачало в капіталізмі
  2. Stubborn Palyanytsia
    bet the bureaucracy to actually get that 25% will take three reincarnations
    +4 solidОптиміст, я б сказав, що знадобиться мінімум чотири цикли сансари
  3. Steppe Sunflower
    meanwhile western defense giants need five years and 10 billion to design a cup holder
    +7 exceptionalПравда, яка болить сильніше за будь-який дедлайн у корпоративному секторі
  4. Borscht-Powered Hetman
    shut up and take my code
    +1 jokeТиповий розробник, готовий продати душу за можливість подебажити в зоні бойових дій