🚨 From Lviv to London to Milan: Unstoppable Momentum in European Defense Tech!

Oh boy, September has been busy: From Defense Tech Valley in Lviv, where alumni and partner companies alike joined our booth, to fresh funding rounds, and running back-to-back hackathons every weekend!

— We just ran our longest-ever, 66-hour hackathon in London on Sep 25-28.

— We ran, in parallel, our shortest-ever, 6-hour hack day in Tallinn, as part of the Estonian Defence week on Sep 25.

— And, last weekend, Oct 3-5, we ran our first hackathon in Milan, with Fincantieri, ELT Group, and ALLWAYS Group as major partners.

And we're gonna keep going! This October, our hackathons will continue in Hamburg and Munich — and we are expanding our Webinar series.

EDTH Community Showcases at Defense Tech Valley: From Hackathons to Real Companies and Field-Testing

The EDTH community was present at Defense Tech Valley by BRAVE1, where we were proud to exhibit, joined by 11 alumni and partner companies. A special highlight was our main sponsor, Voltrac, presenting its fully electric, AI-powered autonomous tractor platform designed for both civilian and military applications.

Joining us were our partner companies Canberra Dynamics, Fiducial, Bifrost Defence, FibreCoat, and Orcrist Technologies, as well as hackathon alumni Unbound Autonomy, Godwit Systems, Bulwark Defense Systems, Zero Industries, and RaroX Systems.

We are more than grateful to see these startups emerging from our events. What started as bold ideas at EDTH hackathons is now turning into real companies shaping the future of defense tech, and this is only the beginning.

And right after Defense Tech Valley 2025, we ran our first field-testing day, together with Scaled Autonomy and IRON Cluster, testing:

– A Shahed interceptor in action by Hope Industries

– Quadcopter dogfights by our friends at Defense Tech for Ukraine (DTU)

– Acoustic detection of drones by Kaizen Labs

– and more 👀 

More field-testing days coming soon!

🚨 Momentum Is Building in the EDTH Unlimited Community

The EDTH Unlimited community on Luma gives you free access to all our events — in-person demo days, online webinars, and our annual conference, the New Defense Summit. Join now as a member to get access through 2026!

We have also introduced a tier specifically for investors — sign up, join our investor network, and we’ll share deal flow with you and invite you to exclusive EDTH events for investors.

Upcoming Webinars:

The Role of Signal Repeating in Modern Battlefield Communication 

with Vadym Burukin

Explore how aerostats and UAV-based relay systems are reshaping the way secure communications are maintained in contested environments.

The Role of a CTO in Investor Attraction

with Oleksandr Barabash

Why CTOs must pitch alongside CEOs to win over investors, and how to turn product vision into compelling business value.

👉 Sign up to become part of our community here

🛰️ Upcoming Events Across Europe

📍 Hamburg, Germany | Oct 10-12

From October 10–12, the European Defense Tech Hackathon comes to Hamburg. Hackers will collaborate with operators, investors, and the public sector on counter-UAS, naval systems, electronic warfare, autonomy, and field communications. Hosted by EY with Helsing as a key partner.

📍 Munich, Germany | Oct 24-26

Continuing in Germany, October 24–26, 200+ hackers, builders, and visionaries gather in Munich for a three-day hackathon at Europe’s leading defense tech hub. Co-hosted by TUM Venture Labs, DroneAid Collective, and Inflection, the event is the ideal platform for developing, testing, and showcasing innovative defense technology ideas.

👀 Even More Events

Regular, 42-hour hackathons running Friday 6 pm till Sunday 12 pm:

• Paris, France (November 7-9): https://luma.com/edth-2025-paris

• Switzerland (November 28-30): https://luma.com/edth-2025-switzerland 

• ​Canberra, Australia (February 6-8, 2026): https://lu.ma/adth-2026 

​Flagship 66-hour hackathons:

• ​Kyiv, Ukraine (November 6-9): https://luma.com/edth-2025-kyiv

• Berlin (November 13 – 16, just before Berlin Security Conference): https://lu.ma/edth-2025-berlin 

• ​Munich (Feb 12-15, 2026, alongside Munich Security Conference): https://lu.ma/edth-2026-munich 

New Defense Summit | November 17, Berlin 

A one-day conference helping innovators go from prototype to viable defense company, with three focused tracks: ​investment & soft funding, ​procurement & business development, and policy & legal frameworks:

lu.ma/new-defense-summit-2025

​Adjacent to defense:  

• ​European Space Cybersecurity Hackathon (Oct 17-18): https://lu.ma/u81cjnoz?tk=hbbSUw 

Field-Testing with the German Armed Forces

The Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub has just announced on LinkedIn: The German Armed Forces will open up their test field on October 20–24, 2025, at the Bergen military training area.

What you can expect:

➔ Live demonstrations of your systems in a realistic environment
➔ Direct knowledge exchange with military users and experts
➔ Feedback on deployment, integration, and maturity

The German Armed Forces' goal: to survey the market, refine use cases, and establish or deepen partnerships.

The focus is specifically on c(UAV), i.e., drone defense. Solutions in the areas of reconnaissance and effectors are welcome.

Whether you are in the early stages of development or ready for market, you are welcome to attend.

Register by October 13, 2025, using the following form: https://www.cyberinnovationhub.de/events/counter-uav-symposium

Limited space available – first-come, first-served.

The 2025 Working with Defence & Security Survey

Defence and dual-use startups are playing a critical role in global security, but the sector remains opaque. This annual survey aims to shed light on the challenges and opportunities for startups working with defence and security customers.

You can contribute in three ways:

👉 If you're a founder in the sector, take five minutes to complete the survey

👉 Share the link with three colleagues or contacts you think should take part

👉 Follow Working with Defence & Security on LinkedIn to get a copy of the report

Your input will generate evidence that helps founders, investors, and policymakers shape the future of this sector.

Survey link: https://tinyurl.com/5crkddmv

NORDA Dynamics Raises $1M for GPS-Free Drone Autonomy

We are excited to hear that NORDA Dynamics, which participated in our first Munich hackathon in June 2024, has secured $1 million. Following the round led by Varangians with several international investors, they will accelerate the development of autonomous drone systems that operate without GPS, communications, or operator control, even under electronic warfare.

With battle-tested solutions like Underdog and StableLink already deployed at scale, NORDA is proving that drones can stay smart and effective on the battlefield.

Launch of the Dutch Defence Cluster in Ukraine

Other news from the Defense Tech Valley: The Dutch Defence Cluster officially launched.

It is a new platform connecting Dutch and Ukrainian defense tech companies. Based in Kyiv and driven by industry, the cluster is designed to accelerate collaboration and strengthen Europe’s defense innovation ecosystem.

C2GRID Secures Initial Investment for Real-Time 3D Battlefield Intelligence

There is more exciting news from our community: C2GRID has closed the first tranche of its pre-seed round with Sunfish Partners to accelerate its near real-time 3D geospatial intelligence platform. The technology turns UAV and video feeds into accurate digital twins of the battlefield, also making use of AI-powered detection.

The investment will scale development, deepen collaboration with Ukrainian and Estonian defense forces, and support strategic partnerships across Europe.

Defense Tech Monthly — September

The single most comprehensive source to understand the state of defense tech and the war in Ukraine — amazing work by Snake Island Institute!

This month’s issue tracks the fastest-moving fronts of defense innovation and counter-innovation — from decoy arms races and deep strikes to radar backbones and the evolving drone war