Registration Is Now Open for the EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2026 Spring Edition!

Apply now for EUDIS Defence Hackathon & Mentorship Programme 2026 in The Netherlands! The EUDIS Defence Hackathon will be hosted in eight simultaneous hackathons at different national locations across EU Member States and Norway that tackle pressing challenges for the European defence and security sector. By working on real-world defence issues, participants contribute to strengthening Europe’s innovation ecosystem and cooperation with partners, including Ukraine. Registration is now open and closes on 20 March!

EUDIS Defence Hackathon in The Netherlands will be hosted by dotSPACE Foundation and taking place at Unmanned Valley. This edition is in close collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, NLR - Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre, Kansen voor West, Eindhoven University of Technology, Innovation Quarter, VDL Defentec, TNO and Province of South Holland. 

Three challenges: Which one will you solve?

The EUDIS Defence Hackathon is designed for teams with proven technology (TRL 4-5) who are ready to accelerate their path into the defence market. If your team wins, a structured mentoring programme is offered, focused on capability alignment, pitch refinement and validation for EU defence initiatives. This spring edition the theme is Defending Airspace, with the following challenges:

• Cost-Effective Drone Interceptors: Develop more affordable, efficient interceptor technologies to counter hostile drones, addressing shortages and high operational costs of existing systems.
• Next Generation Drone Detection Systems: Affordable and scalable early-warning and detection solutions are needed for fast, low-altitude drone threats, remaining effective in adverse weather and complex terrain. Improved decision speed and tracking reliability are critical during large, multi-direction attacks, while minimizing false alarms and reducing the impact of decoy waves intended to exhaust defenders.
• Local Organisers Challenge: Participants are challenged to develop concepts that enable constructive collaboration with civilian stakeholders, addressing human–machine interaction, organisational coordination, ethics, trust and societal integration alongside technical performance within the challenge on Human–Machine Teaming for Scalable Counter-UAS Operations (Ukraine-relevant use cases). By combining NLR Living Lab’s high-TRL expertise with a human-centred and societal innovation perspective from the Ministry of Defence, the hackathon promotes solutions that are operationally effective, responsibly governed and deployable in complex environments.

Who can participate

This hackathon is about advancing real solutions that can strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities. If you already have a team, great! Make sure all members register and join your project. Individual participants are still welcome to apply. However, please note that:

• You must join or form a team before the hackathon weekend starts (last option: at the very start of the hackathon).

• We will facilitate matchmaking via the TAIKAI platform and Discord.

• Teams must be finalised before the competition begins.

The main focus is on teams that already have an MVP, prototype, or validated concept and are ready to take the next step (entry level TRL 4-5). Teams that want to:

• Validate their solution with real defence stakeholders, end-users, and industry experts.

• Stress-test and refine their value proposition for concrete defence use cases.

• Adapt and strengthen their product or service for defence applications.

• Accelerate technical and operational readiness during the 2,5-day hackathon sprint.

• Build strategic connections with future partners, mentors, and key actors in the European defence ecosystem.

The first prize winners will receive €7.000, runner up €3.000, followed by the Innovation Valley Prize with €1.500. In addition to local prizes, the eight national hackathon winners gain access to 40 hours of mentoring programme held over two months, get to pitch in front of EU Member States representatives, and the top three EU-wide winners get to attend an international high-tech event to pitch their solutions. The mentoring programme will support the eight winning teams in building sustainable and successful businesses, introducing them to important defence knowledge and contacts.

Click here for more information and to register! Your registration is complete once you submit the application form. After your registration is accepted with next steps, head to the matchmaking section to confirm or find your team. An eligible registration requires registration on TAIKAI and Discord.

Important dates

• Pre-hackathon webinar (3 March): Get insights from our experts on what to expect during the hackathon. Learn about the structure, challenges, and opportunities to maximise your impact.
• Pre-hackathon webinar (5 March): Get insights from our experts on what to expect during the hackathon. Learn about the structure, challenges, and opportunities to maximise your impact.
• Pre-hackathon webinar (19 March): Get insights from our experts on what to expect during the hackathon. Learn about the structure, challenges, and opportunities to maximise your impact.
• Registration closes (20 March): The final date to register for the hackathon. Make sure your team is signed up and ready by this date!
• Hackathon weekend (26 - 28 March): Across eight simultaneous locations in Europe teams develop solutions to three important defence challenges. 
• Mentorship program (Starting 8 April): Engage in a focused mentorship phase where you'll have the opportunity to travel to a physical bootcamp, refine your ideas with the help of experienced mentors and further develop your solutions.
• Live pitching in front of EU member states: After the mentorship program, winners will have the unique opportunity to participate in an exclusive EU-wide live pitching competition in June, 2026. This is an exciting next step for the top teams to showcase their innovative solutions, compete against other top participants across Europe, and potentially secure further EU recognition and awards

About EUDIS

EUDIS offers a set of instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including start-ups, and other non-traditional players in defence industrial ecosystem to ensure more opportunities to access the European Defence Fund. It aims to lower entry barriers into the defence domain for smaller players and innovators, focusing on technological readiness and market maturity. EUDIS is here to support innovators throughout the development cycle to mature, scale-up, demonstrate their use-case, grow and successfully enter the market.

The European Defence Fund, with a budget of nearly €7.3 billion for 2021-2027, aims to foster competitive, collaborative projects that promote cooperation among SMEs, large enterprises, and research actors throughout the Union. This funding is used to support innovation in state-of-the-art and interoperable defence technology, ensuring a bigger impact on European defence capabilities and enhancing security.

Click here for more information and to register! In case of any questions or concerns, reach out to hackathons@groundstation.space.

Source: EUDIS-Hackathon