Eight organisations across Europe have been selected to host the Autumn 2026 edition of the EUDIS Defence Hackathon, taking place simultaneously across eight locations on 15–17 October 2026.
The selected Local Organisers
From Sweden to Cyprus, this edition’s hosts bring together some of Europe’s most active defence and deep-tech innovation ecosystems:
Each local organiser brings its own national defence context, local expertise and technical infrastructure, whilst contributing to a pan-European hackathon that reflects the priorities of each regional ecosystem.
What participants will be working on
The Autumn 2026 edition focuses on Autonomy on the Battlefield — addressing the operational need for autonomous systems capable of functioning in contested, communication-degraded environments. The two shared challenges across all locations are:
- Navigation in GNSS-denied environments
- Swarm coordination, autonomous reconnaissance and logistics
Each Local Organiser will additionally define a third challenge rooted in their own national defence context, ensuring that local operational priorities are reflected alongside the common European framework.
Over 48 hours, teams will have access to prototyping space, testing resources and direct mentorship from defence industry professionals, research institutions and operational experts. The EUDIS Defence Hackathon is built around developing real, deployable solutions to real operational problems — not concepts but working prototypes that can withstand scrutiny from people who know the field.
Who should apply
The programme is designed for engineering teams, dual-use startups, deep-tech teams with pre-commercial prototypes, and professionals from defence industry and SMEs — anyone with technology that has defence-relevant potential and the technical depth to develop it under pressure.
Participants from all EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine are welcome to apply and may choose their preferred location freely. Ukrainian participants are actively encouraged across all locations, whether as competitors, mentors or jury members.
Winning teams gain access to the EUDIS Mentoring Programme for structured post-hackathon support.
Registrations for the Autumn 2026 EUDIS Defence Hackathon will open soon. Stay tuned and visit our website for updates. Full details on challenges, locations and the application process are available at:
