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 Mitigation Sensing, ISR & Modular Sensor Systems Computer Vision & Edge AI for contested environments Electronic Warfare (EW) & spectrum resilience Navigation, positioning & operation in GNSS-denied environments Secure communications & cyber-physical resilience Scalable 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