🚨 From Canberra to Munich — And What’s Next in Europe

Fostering Defense Innovation for European Sovereignty

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Janick Bayer & Benjamin Wolba
February 18, 2026

The year has just started, and we have already run three events globally, bringing together over 400 builders, operators, and investors:

We hosted our first global hackathon in Australia, gathering 150+ participants across 23 teams for 48 hours, alongside representatives from the Australian Army, Air Force, and the US Army, and welcoming the Ukrainian ambassador, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, to open our hackathon demo day.

Next, we ran two hackathons last week: In Stockholm, as part of TECHARENA, ten elite teams turned a 24-hour defence track into the most competitive arena of the conference, shipping interceptor drones, laser defense concepts, and AI-powered drone identification systems.

And in Munich, during the Munich Security Conference week, 200+ participants worked on challenges such as mesh networking for autonomous interceptors and affordable radar tracking, supported by the strongest delegation of frontline Ukrainian mentors we have ever had. Plus, we signed a collaboration agreement with the National University of Kyiv, Aviation Institute.

If you’re done talking about European defense and ready to build it, join us at European Defense Tech Hackathons across Europe this spring 🥳

The journey continues with our London hackathon this weekend, and upcoming hackathons in Athens, Tallinn, Rzeszów, Brussels, the Netherlands, and more — stay tuned for details!

🇬🇧 Our Second Hackathon in London, February 20–22

We continue our hackathon series and head to London this weekend. The city hosts one of the world’s highest concentrations of engineers, builders, and operators, and we’ll bring them into the same room this weekend.

We already have more than 130 sign-ups, and you can be part of it too!

Huge thanks to GNIZDO Ltd, Pilotix, DroneAid Collective, Inflection, and Support Ukraine for supporting us!

Secure your spot here: https://luma.com/edth-2026-london

🇬🇷 Athens, Greece | Feb 27–March 1, 2026

Our first hackathon in Greece will take place at the end of February, hosted alongside ResilienceTech, with support from Alta Ares, DroneAid Collective, Pilotix, Inflection, and the Hellenic Ministry of Defence.

Engineers and builders will focus on coastal defense, naval operations, hybrid threats, counter-drones, EW, and secure communications.

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

We already have over 120 sign-ups for our hackathon on NATO's eastern flank! Builders join Ukrainian soldiers, NATO/EU experts for 3 days on air defense, AI command-control, computer vision, edge AI, UxS, and EW.

👀 Even More Events

📍 Poland | March 6-8, 2026

EDTH, Rzeszów City, and the Polish Development Fund (PFR) organize the Detect & Defend – Counter-Drone Hackathon in Rzeszów.

📍 Brussels, Belgium | March 13-15, 2026

Right after the EDF Info Days and parallel to BEDEX, we’ll host hackers on March 13–15, together with Seven Capital, backed by DroneAid Collective, Pilotix, and Inflection.

📍 Netherlands | April 10-12, 2026

On 10–12 April 2026, EDTH and Artillerie Inrichtingen Armaments organize the second hackathon in the Netherlands.

Upcoming Webinars (as part of our Unlimited Community)

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

Benjamin on the Entrepreneurial Realities Podcast

Our co-founder, Benjamin Wolba, joined the Entrepreneurial Realities podcast by TUM Venture Labs to discuss how EDTH began with a single hackathon and soon became Europe’s fastest-growing network for defense innovation.

He also discussed how to bring new talent into the field, how real-world testing in Ukraine teaches lessons beyond what you see in the news, and how early-stage defense startups can grow into lasting companies.

Click here to listen to the podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5q4Wck8tIHE9zYCkroRTDb

Support DroneAid Collective's Ukraine Fundraiser 🇺🇦

Our friends at DroneAid Collective step up to help Ukrainians in the harsh winter. Russia weaponises these conditions, and DroneAid raises money to buy heaters and generators for Ukraine’s defenders and civilians for Kyiv and beyond, where -20°C freezes homes, bursts pipes, and forces families into tent shelters.

Small donations drive their €20,000 goal to warm entire communities against Russia's war.

Support their vital work: https://tr.ee/NgJPjSUXFR

Defense Tech Monthly — January 2026

In its January issue of Defense Tech Monthly, drafted in cooperation with AB3 TECH, Snake Island Institute covers how modern warfare continues to expand far beyond traditional battlefields.

It examines Russia’s growing reliance on satellite-based communications, ranging from legacy Molniya constellations to BM-35 drones and Shahed derivatives, alongside Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign targeting Russia’s energy sector, defense industry, and respective infrastructure.

Worth giving it a read!