The EUDIS Defence Hackathon Norway 2026 brings together startups, researchers, engineers, students and defence professionals to develop solutions for some of Europe's most pressing security challenges.
Theme: Autonomy on the Battlefield
This year's hackathon focuses on autonomous systems and robotics capable of providing operational advantages across air, land, sea and space domains.
Over three intensive days, participants will work in multidisciplinary teams to develop prototypes, validate ideas against real operational needs, and receive feedback from defence end-users, researchers and industry experts. The strongest teams will gain visibility across the European defence innovation ecosystem and access to further mentoring and collaboration opportunities.
Challenge Tracks
Participants can choose one of three challenge areas:
- GNSS-Denied Navigation – Developing autonomous systems capable of operating without GPS/GNSS through advanced sensing, onboard perception and alternative navigation technologies.
- Swarm Coordination – Building collaborative multi-agent drone or robotic systems for missions such as search and rescue, mapping and target tracking.
- Arctic & Maritime Autonomous Systems (Norway-specific challenge) – Creating autonomous hardware and sensor solutions tailored to Arctic and maritime environments, aligned with the operational priorities of Norway's Defence Research Establishment (FFI).
Who Should Apply?
The hackathon welcomes:
- Startups and scale-ups developing dual-use or defence technologies
- Deep-tech teams with advanced R&D or prototype-stage solutions
- Engineers, software developers and hardware specialists
- Students and researchers in robotics, AI, engineering, physics and computer science
- Defence and security professionals
- SMEs, innovation clusters and research organisations working with autonomous systems and related technologies
What Participants Will Gain
Selected participants will benefit from:
- Direct feedback from defence end-users and operational experts
- Mentoring from leading experts in defence, research and industry
- The opportunity to validate technologies against real-world defence requirements
- Networking with innovators, investors and decision-makers from across Europe
- Access to follow-on mentoring programmes and increased visibility within the European EUDIS network for the most promising teams
As Europe's security landscape continues to evolve, innovation plays an increasingly important role in strengthening resilience and technological sovereignty. The EUDIS Defence Hackathon offers a unique opportunity to contribute to future European defence capabilities while connecting with key actors shaping the sector.
Applications open on 18 August 2026. The hackathon will take place 15–17 October 2026 in Norway. Further information and the application link will be published when registration opens.
