🚨 EDTH in 2026: 50+ Events. One Mission.

Fostering Defense Innovation for European Sovereignty

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Janick Bayer & Benjamin Wolba
January 15, 2026

Welcome back, everyone — and happy 2026!

We’re kicking off the year bigger than ever: after running three hackathons in 2024 and 20+ in 2025, we’re planning on 50+ events around the world this year — from Australia to Munich, from Stockholm to Greece, and beyond!

That means hackathons, but also hands-on field-testing days, drone-building workshops, and our annual conference, the New Defense Summit.

Our ambition is to help thousands of builders take an idea all the way to a real, tested prototype — and beyond that, to fundraising, hiring, and scaling. And to support that journey at every step through our events, our community, and the resources we’re building around them.

Let’s make that vision happen in 2026 — together!

With EDTH, we’re not just running an event series, but we’re creating Europe’s largest community for defense tech.

And you can be part of it: 

Come to our events, follow us on LinkedIn or through this newsletter, and support us by becoming a member of EDTH Unlimited — our paid community tier to get a full year of exclusive access to:

  • Free tickets to all in-person events, including hackathon demo days (we plan 50+ this year globally!)

  • Members-only webinars & exclusive online networking

  • An invitation to our annual conference: The New Defense Summit 2026

Community - European Defense Tech Hub

A Place Where Builders, Founders, Investors, Military, and Industry Experts Meet

eurodefense.tech/community

Join Our Upcoming Events

📍 Kyiv, Ukraine | Jan 31, 2026

Want to see if your drone flies and your systems work? On 31 January, we’re inviting 5–8 early-stage startups to do early validation and core functionality testing in a secure environment.

Sign up now via this form

📍 Canberra, Australia | Feb 6–8, 2026

We’re going global, and Australia is our first stop: Our first hackathon in 2026 will focus on Pacific security and next-generation counter-drone defense to protect critical infrastructure.

Proud to organise this edition together with UNSW Canberra and UNSW Canberra Launch, PANOP, and Beaten Zone Venture Partners.

Sign up now: lu.ma/adth-2026

📍 Stockholm, Sweden | Feb 12–15, 2026

Tackle a real-world defense challenge provided by our track partner, Nordic Air Defence, at the BuildArena Hackathon.

We’re thrilled to co-organize this event with Techarena, Lovable, Project Europe, Technology Industries of Sweden, Sinch, and Inflection. Apply by Jan 18, solo or as a team of 1–4; travel support available.

📍 Munich, Germany | Feb 11–12, 2026

Europe’s largest defense tech hackathon returns this February!

In parallel with the Munich Security Conference, 200+ hackers from across Europe and beyond will turn ideas into prototypes over four days. Proud to have our key partners Helsing and Nordic Air Defense on board.

📍 Tallinn, Estonia | Feb 27–March 1, 2026

After our successful Defense Hack Day as part of Estonian Defence Week in September, we’re coming back to Tallinn for a full 3-day hackathon!

Excited to co-host with Tehnopol, the largest science and business park in the Baltics, alongside TYTAN Technologies and C2GRID.

👀 Even More Events

📍 Athens, Greece | Feb 27–March 1, 2026

Join us in Athens for the European Defense Tech Hackathon on 27 Feb–1 Mar, 2026:

📍 Netherlands | April 10-12, 2026

And from 10–12 April 2026, we’ll team up with Artillerie Inrichtingen Armaments to bring our hackathon again to the Netherlands:

Upcoming Webinars (as part of our Unlimited Community)

P.S. Join our Unlimited Community — https://eurodefense.tech/community

European Critical Infrastructure Hackathon (Jan 23–25, Gdańsk, Poland 🇵🇱)

200+ innovators. Critical European tech. One hackathon. Join us with VIDOC Security Lab to shape the future of communication, energy, offshore, and space systems.

Info & registration: criticalhackathon.com

AI in Defence Summit 2026 (Feb 2, 2026, Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪)

Europe’s next defense frontier: AI in Defence Summit 2026, supported by the European Innovation Council. Save 20% with EDTHSU50 (Startups) or EDTHGA20 (General).

Sign up here: aidefencesummit.eu

Goal Exceeded: €45,000 Raised to Help Ukraine Defend Its Skies

Before the holidays, we ran a fundraiser together with HELP99 and Resilience Media — and thanks to many of you, we exceeded our goal significantly!

Huge thanks to everyone who supported us!

Thanks to you, not only will the R&D lab of the Air Defence Division of the 3rd Assault Brigade be restored, but they’ll also be able to continue doing what they do best: building and testing systems that stop the enemy and save lives.

Drone Classification Clarified Under German Law

As discussed on our Discord, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy put out a fact sheet on how loitering munitions and drones get classified under the War Weapons Control Act. The guidance spells out when modern drone systems count as war weapons under item 9 of the War Weapons List, and it’s based on technical specs, not what someone plans to do with them.

The fact sheet makes clear that loitering munitions, armed drones, interceptor drones, and systems with target engagement or firing abilities are usually considered war weapons once they become operational prototypes. Parts matter too (engines, software, firing devices), even if the systems are incomplete or disassembled.

The document is not legally binding, but it offers solid guidance for companies developing drone tech and suggests that the War Weapons List might be updated to better reflect today’s defense systems.

For a detailed description, read NOERR’s article.

New Round Opens for Oppenheimer’s Ukrainian Defense-Tech Accelerator

The Oppenheimer Acceleration Fund just opened applications for round two of its Acceleration Program, designed to help Ukrainian defense-tech startups scale internationally. The program kicks off with a one-month online phase before moving to in-person sessions in Silicon Valley in early 2026. The program includes coaching, access to industry experts, and connections to investor networks for founders.

If selected, startups receive an initial $25,000 investment, with the opportunity to raise between $100,000 and $500,000 in follow-on funding. They look for teams with working prototypes and honest feedback from Ukrainian military units, particularly those focused on air-defense and other battlefield technologies.

For more details and to apply, visit oppenheimer.fund

Defense Tech Monthly — December 2025

This report’s December edition tracks the war’s shift toward robotics-driven warfare and summarises the 2025 tech battlefield. It covers Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign on Russian energy targets, advances in logistics and combat UGVs, and the modular evolution of russian systems like the Molniya-2.

The report also examines high-risk engineering roles for Russian UGVs, low- and high-tech countermeasures on both sides, Black Sea operations, including underwater drones that can turn off a Kalibr-armed submarine, and Ukraine’s progress on sovereign LEO satellites with STETMAN and UASAT.