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- 🚨 London Is Coming Together
🚨 London Is Coming Together
Fostering Defense Innovation for European Sovereignty
Fynn van Rießen & Benjamin Wolba
September 22, 2026
Next week, we'll be in London for the EDTH Defense Tech Days: one hackathon, two networking events to kick off the week, an investor dinner, and more to come!
In parallel, our Asia tour starts on September 25, with five stops across Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea: three hackathons, a startup showcase, and a conference on taking prototypes into production.
Lastly, there’s our EDTH Balkan tour across Romania and Bulgaria: one field testing event near Bucharest on October 7–8, followed by hackathons in Bucharest on October 9–11 and Sofia on October 16–18.
The following weekend, we’re hosting the Critical Infrastructure Shield Hackathon in Winterthur, Switzerland. Several November hackathons are already open for registration, including Lisbon, Copenhagen, and Berlin. Get an early look and find the full program at events.eurodefense.tech.
Across the community and ecosystem:
September 21–22: Estonia's e-Residency team is inviting founders to Tallinn during Estonian Defence Week.
September 23: Iron Bridge is bringing The Future of Warfare Summit to Warsaw, with EDTH as a Community Partner.
October 2: The Kyiv Independent brings its first UK live event to Kings Place, London, with 10–15% off for the EDTH community.
October 6: Join our MathWorks & European Defense Tech Hub Meetup in Dübendorf.
October 29: CASCADE will put cyber teams through a critical infrastructure exercise in Madrid.
Cap Vista Accelerator has opened three challenges for startups, offering funded trial opportunities to successful applicants.
🇬🇧 EDTH Defense Tech Days in London
October 1–8, 2026
October 2–4 | London Defense Tech Hackathon
At the heart of our London week is the hackathon we're hosting on October 2–4, bringing engineers and founders together with Ukrainian frontline practitioners and members of the UK military.
You can arrive with a project or find a team there, work on a prepared challenge, and get feedback from people who understand the operational problem.
Teams form on Friday and present their work at Sunday's Demo Day. If you want to see what they build, EDTH Community visitors can join the Sunday presentations from 13:00.
October 1 | VC & Founders Networking Night
At the VC & Founders Networking Night, co-hosted with Commplicated, founders and investors can meet before the hackathon begins. It runs from 17:30 to 19:30 London time; registration is subject to approval.
October 1 | London Defence Tech Network x EDTH Social
The London Defence Tech Network x EDTH social runs from 19:00 to 23:00 in a relaxed pub setting. Come to catch up with familiar faces and meet people across the UK and European defense tech community. Places are limited, so register in advance.
October 7 | The New Defense Dinner
Our curated dinner brings together 20–25 fund managers and the investors who back their funds, with a focus on defense and dual-use startups. The evening is open to VCs and limited partners, with matchmaking among fundraising GPs, family offices, private investors, and institutions.
Partner event: October 2 | The Kyiv Independent Live
Kings Place, Hall 1, London, 6 pm to 9 pm
The Kyiv Independent comes to London for its first live event in the UK.
Join the award-winning team: editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko, CEO Daryna Shevchenko, deputy chief editor Toma Istomina, reporters Francis Farrell, Dominic Culverwell and Olena Zashko, for an evening of live storytelling and a candid Q&A moderated by the Guardian's Jamie Wilson.
You can hear stories directly from within the war and how the warfare is changing. When purchasing a ticket, you can submit your question directly to the team or converse during an informal meet & greet, with time to network with media, policymakers, business owners, and fellow Ukraine supporters.
Use EDTH10 for 10% off 1–2 tickets, or EDTHBUNDLE for 15% off when you book 3 or more.
Partner event: October 5–6 | Resilience Conference
Staying in London after the hackathon? The Resilience Conference brings founders and investors together with military, government and industry leaders. The program includes startup showcases and time to meet the people who could buy, use or back what you're building.
Use the EDTH community code EDTH25 to get 25% off when registering.
Partner event: October 5–11 | Deep Tech London
Deep Tech London is a city-wide festival running from October 5–11, with the Summit on October 8. Expect demos, talks and an expo covering robotics, space, fusion, photonics, automated labs and biotech.
EDTH community members can use EDTHLDN to unlock priority £50 Summit tickets. On the registration page, enter the code below the “Request to Join” button. Tickets are subject to approval.
Want to exhibit? Apply for an expo table. Tables cost £250 plus VAT and include three tickets. A limited number of free places are available to companies that haven’t raised a funding round.
Make the most of London
Plan your week with the full London lineup, including partner events during Deep Tech London on October 5–11.
Joining us? Create your personal London poster, share it with your network and tag EDTH so we can reshare.
Hosting something alongside the program? Submit a side event to bring more of the community together.
More Events from EDTH
Five stops across Asia
From September 25 to October 11, our Asia tour brings builders together for three hackathons, a Europe–Japan startup showcase, and a production conference.
September 25–27: Singapore Defense Tech Hackathon
October 2–4: Taiwan Defense Tech Hackathon
October 7: From Prototype to Production, Tokyo
October 9–11: Korean Defense Tech Hackathon, Seoul
Field testing and hackathons in Romania and Bulgaria
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We start near Bucharest with field testing on October 7–8, followed by the Bucharest hackathon on October 9–11. Sofia follows on October 16–18. Bring working hardware to the field testing days, or join a hackathon team to develop a project with feedback from military mentors.
Critical Infrastructure Shield Hackathon | Switzerland, October 23–25
Join us in Winterthur to build and test ideas for protecting critical infrastructure. Engineers, operators and founders will work on projects including counter-drone systems, autonomous surveillance and communications that keep working when networks are disrupted.
You can also join Sunday’s Demo Day as an EDTH Community visitor to see what the teams have built.
Explore the full EDTH program
Looking further ahead? Registration is already open for several November hackathons. Browse the calendar to find your next hackathon, field testing day or community event.
Across the Defense Tech Ecosystem
🇪🇪 Tallinn | Startup and Tech Companies Track | September 21–22
Estonia's e-Residency team is inviting defense tech founders from EU and NATO countries and Ukraine to the startup track at Estonian Defence Week. The program includes Defence Innovation Day on September 21 and “Defencetech Testbed Estonia” on September 22, with a chance to learn about building and testing in Estonia.
Participation requires host approval. The Defence Week Expo needs a separate registration, linked on the event page.
🇵🇱 Warsaw | The Future of Warfare Summit | September 23
We're a Community Partner of Iron Bridge's The Future of Warfare Summit in Warsaw. The event brings together military and government representatives with defense companies, founders, and investors to discuss lessons from Ukraine, the protection of critical infrastructure, and the financing of defense innovation.
It takes place at CIC Warsaw from 13:30 to 19:30. Places are limited, and attendance is subject to approval.
🇨🇭 MathWorks & European Defense Tech Hub Meetup | October 6
Join us at the MathWorks & European Defense Tech Hub Meetup at Switzerland Innovation Park Zürich in Dübendorf, from 18:00 to 21:00 CEST.
We're bringing founders, engineers, investors and industry experts together for an evening of model simulation and integration in collaborative defense, three-minute startup pitches in an open mic session, and an apéro with time to meet the community.
The meetup follows MathWorks' Innovation Day, which takes place at the same venue that afternoon.
🇪🇸 CASCADE: a critical infrastructure CTF comes to Madrid
On October 29, 2026, Unit Range, THE SIGN MEDIA and RCC Advisory are bringing CASCADE to Madrid: a full-day Capture the Flag exercise built around real, documented attacks on some of Europe's most targeted operational environments. Fifty on-site participants, working in teams of 4 to 5, will spend six continuous hours across simulated energy grids, water utilities, transport systems, and public services, tackling jeopardy-style challenges that range from initial foothold to expert level. Skills are assessed against the NIST NICE framework before and after the exercise.
The event is supported by the Agencia de Ciberseguridad de la Comunidad de Madrid and the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain, and takes place the day after CYSAT Madrid.
Registration is open on Eventbrite.
Cap Vista | Three challenges open to global companies
Singapore's Cap Vista Accelerator is looking for companies with technology ready to test against end-user needs. Successful applicants can receive funded trials. Three calls are open:
Deep Blue Observer, a joint maritime domain awareness challenge with US DIU, seeks ways to combine maritime intelligence and detect suspicious activity. Apply by September 25 at 11:59 SGT.
Detection and mitigation of maritime hazards, a joint challenge with US CD&I, focuses on identifying and responding to hazards in busy sea lanes and port approaches. Apply by September 29 at 13:00 SGT.
Solicitation 6.0 covers radiological decontamination, resilient positioning, navigation and timing, counter-UAS course-of-action planning, and countering uncrewed underwater vehicles. Apply by October 22 at 13:00 SGT.
Each call has its own technical requirements and trial process. Follow the links to find the right fit for your team.
If someone you work with should be at one of these events, forward them this edition.
See you in London!