European Defense Tech Hackathon - Bratislava

​Time to Accelerate European Defense Innovation 🚀

​​Join us and 100+ hackers from all across Europe and beyond for the European Defense Tech Hackathon on October 16-18 2026, in Bratislava, Slovakia - the first defence-focused hackathon of its kind in the country.

​​Goal

​​​We want to bridge the gaps between technologists, the public sector, investors, and operators in dual-use and defense technology. This hackathon will demonstrate the talent and drive of the European ecosystem.

​​​Get inspired by the challenges we have prepared, or feel free to bring your own project. You'll get feedback from folks who have been on the frontline to ensure you're solving real problems.

​​Our goal with the hackathon is to put you in a position to continue towards deployment.

​​Focus

The hackathon will feature 10-15 challenges across domains, concentrating on mission-critical defence and dual-use capabilities relevant to Europe’s strategic and operational needs, including:

Autonomous & Unmanned Systems (UxS)Counter-UAS & Aerial Threat MitigationSensing, ISR & Modular Sensor SystemsComputer Vision & Edge AI for contested environmentsElectronic Warfare (EW) & spectrum resilienceNavigation, positioning & operation in GNSS-denied environmentsSecure communications & cyber-physical resilienceScalable production, cost efficiency & deployment readiness

Participants are welcome to work on prepared challenges or propose their own projects, provided they align with these focus areas and address real operational constraints.

Visitors

​​To give participants time and space to focus on their projects, we'll have no visitors during the hackathon. If you're curious about the outcomes and what the teams have built, please sign up as a visitor for our demo day on Sunday.

​​Agenda

​​Friday, October 16, 2026

​​Kick-off Day

​​12:00 - Doors open, Networking

​​13:00 - Welcome by Organizers, Keynote

​​14:00 - Workshops, Team Formation, and Open-ended Networking

​​17:00 - Presentation of Mentors and Challenges

​​18:00 - Start of Hacking

​​Saturday, October 17, 2026

​​Hacking continues all day

​​Sunday, October 18, 2026​

​10:00 - Testing of Presentations

​​12:00 - Lunch Break, End of Hacking

​​Demo Day (Open to Visitors)

​​13:00 - Pitches of the winning teams

​​15:00 - Award Ceremony

​​15:30 - After-party & Networking