🚨 On the Ground in Romania and Bulgaria

In August, naval teams in Romania and Bulgaria repeatedly responded to drones found in and around the Black Sea. This is just one example of the security challenges facing both countries on NATO’s eastern flank.

This October, we’re coming to Romania and Bulgaria. With our local partners, we’ll bring builders together with people who know these challenges firsthand. The route begins with our Field Testing Days near Bucharest on October 7–8, followed by the Bucharest Hackathon on October 9–11 and the Sofia Hackathon on October 16–18.

Bring your prototype to the field days, or join a hackathon team: At each stop, operators and mentors can tell you what holds up in practice. Here are the three stops:

🇷🇴 Near Bucharest, Romania | October 7–8, 2026

The route begins on a live field site with ASO Airspace Intelligence and AV. Teams can fly, drive, and run working systems in front of operators, procurement representatives, and investors.

The first day is for setup, integration, and dry runs. On the second day, teams participate in structured demos, meet with end users, and compare notes during an after-action debrief. We'll provide runway and field access, plus safety and operations support.

If you have hardware ready to demonstrate, start here!

Join the Field Testing Days

Want to field test? Fill in this survey and let us know what you bring.

🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania | October 9–11, 2026

Our first hackathon in the Romanian capital follows the field days. It is co-organized with How to Web, Underline Ventures and EY. UK/Romania Business has joined the partner lineup.

One challenge asks teams to navigate without GNSS. EASA reports increased jamming and spoofing around the Black Sea, a concrete reason to work on navigation that can cope without satellite signals. Teams can also tackle counter-UAS and resilient communications, using a prepared challenge or their own project. People with frontline experience will give feedback.

The hackathon follows the How to Web conference, so you can meet the region’s startup community earlier in the week, then spend the weekend building together.

Apply for the Bucharest Hackathon

🇧🇬 Sofia, Bulgaria | October 16–18, 2026

A week later, our first hackathon in Bulgaria brings technical teams together in Sofia. It is co-organized with Capital, with the Technical University of Sofia, Raisen and DroneAid Collective among the partners. Bulgaria’s defense industry and Black Sea position make Sofia a useful place to work on the region’s security needs.

Military mentors will give teams feedback as they build. The winner gets a pitch slot at the Regional Defence & Security Summit in Sofia on October 21. The top three teams receive full access to the Summit to meet military leaders, industry executives and investors.

Apply for the Sofia Hackathon

Want to see what the teams build? EDTH Community members can join the Sunday Demo Days in Bucharest and Sofia. Join the community for access.

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