Context · DG DEFIS · EU
Eight host organisations confirmed for 5th EUDIS Defence Hackathon (15–17 Oct 2026)
DG DEFIS — Defence Industry & Space (EC) · published 18 Jun 2026 · · Source ↗
Deadline—
Budget / value—
Statusforthcoming
Consortiumnot required
Why it matters
A low-cost visibility route into the EUDIS/EDF ecosystem with mentorship and defence-industry jury contact, focused on GNSS-denied navigation and swarming. Relevant to early-stage autonomy, PNT and swarm-software teams with a working prototype, including Ukrainian firms.
Do this: Monitor eudis-hackathon.eu for registration opening and pre-select a host location (e.g. Linköping Science Park or Kjeller Innovasjon) matching your national challenge, with a demonstrable GNSS-denied navigation or swarm prototype ready for 15–17 October 2026.
Route: grant application · For: BD / bid leads at defence-tech scale-upsEstablished SME suppliers & subsystem makers
Summary
DG DEFIS confirmed eight local organisers across Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden for the Autumn 2026 EUDIS Defence Hackathon on 15–17 October 2026. The theme is 'Autonomy on the Battlefield', with two shared challenges — navigation in GNSS-denied environments, and swarm coordination/autonomous reconnaissance and logistics — plus a third national challenge per host. Teams from all EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine can apply; registrations open soon and winners access the EUDIS Mentoring Programme.
Eligibility
Engineering teams, dual-use startups, deep-tech teams with pre-commercial prototypes, defence industry professionals and SMEs from all EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine.
Source text (raw, may be non-English)
Eight organisations across Europe have been selected to host the Autumn 2026 edition of the EUDIS Defence Hackathon, taking place simultaneously across eight locations on 15–17 October 2026. Eight organisations across Europe have been selected to host the Autumn 2026 edition of the EUDIS Defence Hackathon, taking place simultaneously across eight locations on 15–17 October 2026 . The selected Local Organisers From Sweden to Cyprus, this edition’s hosts bring together some of Europe's most active defence and deep-tech innovation ecosystems: Defence Innovation Hub Austria , Austria C.D. Multimedia Services Ltd , Cyprus DCU Invent DAC , Ireland Fondazione SAFE , Italy University of Latvia , Latvia Kjeller Innovasjon AS , Norway Startup Leiria , Portugal Linköping Science Park , Sweden Each local organiser brings its own national defence context, local expertise and technical infrastructure, whilst contributing to a pan-European hackathon that reflects the priorities of each regional ecosystem. What participants will be working on The Autumn 2026 edition focuses on Autonomy on the Battlefield — addressing the operational need for autonomous systems capable of functioning in contested, communication-degraded environments. The two shared challenges across all locations are: Navigation in GNSS-denied environments Swarm coordination, autonomous reconnaissance and logistics Each Local Organiser will additionally define a third challenge rooted in their own national defence context, ensuring that local operational priorities are reflected alongside the common European framework. Over 48 hours, teams will have access to prototyping space, testing resources and direct mentorship from defence industry professionals, research institutions and operational experts. The EUDIS Defence Hackathon is built around developing real, deployable solutions to real operational problems — not concepts but working prototypes that can withstand scrutiny from people who know the field. Who should apply The programme is designed for engineering teams, dual-use startups, deep-tech teams with pre-commercial prototypes, and professionals from defence industry and SMEs — anyone with technology that has defence-relevant potential and the technical depth to develop it under pressure. Participants from all EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine are welcome to apply and may choose their preferred location freely. Ukrainian participants are actively encouraged across all locations, whether as competitors, mentors or jury members. Winning teams gain access to the EUDIS Mentoring Programme for structured post-hackathon support. Registrations for the Autumn 2026 EUDIS Defence Hackathon will open soon. Stay tuned and visit our website for updates. Full details on challenges, locations and the application process are available at: https://eudis-hackathon.eu For media inquiries: contact eudis-hackathon [dot] eu ( contact[at]eudis-hackathon[dot]eu ) Publication date 18 June 2026 Author Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space
Related
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Context
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Source: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eight-host-organisations-5th-eudis-defence-hackathon-are-officially-confirmed-2026-06-18_en — summarised by Rearm Radar; verify details at source before bidding. Enrichment: anthropic/claude-opus-5 (confidence 85%).