Suppliers forced the Defense Procurement Agency to raise the dollar price of body armor by 20%

"The Defense Procurement Agency" of the Ministry of Defense contracted body armor worth 1.34 billion UAH in September after several unsuccessful attempts to purchase them cheaper. In dollar terms, the cost of the most common configuration increased by about 20% compared to previous procurements.

The contracts were signed on September 15-16, and suppliers must deliver the body armor to the Defense Forces by December 10. The largest order - for 842 million UAH - went to LLC "SPE "T:3000". Another 266 million UAH went to "Komerts Armor", and over 230 million UAH - to "Ukrtak.UA".

Basic type 2 body armor in configuration 1-5 was purchased this time at 22,158 UAH, or about $496 per set. In June, the DPA bought similar body armor produced by "Temp-3000" for 17,800 UAH, or $406. Thus, in dollar terms, the price increased by more than 20%.

Body armor in the extended configuration 1-11 became even more noticeably more expensive. In the September contracts, they cost approximately 35.4 thousand UAH, or $793-794 per set. The previous purchase price was about $568, and the average price of such body armor in DPA contracts during 2026 was $654.

As "Nashi Groshi" writes, the Agency tried several times in the summer to purchase the required number of body armor cheaper, but suppliers did not participate in the tenders.

For the basic configuration, the expected price was initially set at about $419 per set, then raised to $476. Still, no offers were received. Only when the expected cost was increased to about $497 in September did suppliers submit bids.

A similar situation occurred with the extended configuration. The expected cost successively increased from about $683 to $724, and then to $795. As a result, contracts were signed at $793-794 per set.

At the same time, during the final auction, the participants practically did not reduce their offered prices.

The DPA explained that a direct comparison of summer and September procurements does not take into account the market situation at the time of the tenders. The Agency twice announced procurement at a lower cost but received no offers.

"Maintaining a cost at which the market is not ready to supply the required volume would create a risk of not contracting the needs of the Defense Forces", - explained the DPA.

After that, the expected cost was revised according to the Agency's methodology and a procurement was announced for the third time.

However, current prices remain significantly lower than the peak indicators of the first years of the full-scale war. In 2023, basic body armor was purchased at 37,900 UAH, or about $1,037 per set. The lowest price since the full-scale invasion, "Nashi Groshi" recorded in May 2026 - 16,333 UAH, or $371.

The largest current contract was awarded to LLC "SPE "T:3000", created in 2025, which will supply "Korsar" body armor produced by "Temp-3000". This company had hardly participated in public procurement before large contracts with the DPA, but to confirm experience, it provided contracts for the supply of body armor from "Temp-3000".

Based on materials from: "Nashi Groshi"