A four-day defence and security hackathon held in Berlin from 9-12 July 2026 as part of Berlin Defense Tech Week, organised by the European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH). Bringing together 200 or more hackers from across Europe and beyond, it is structured around a hacking sprint from Thursday evening to Sunday noon, culminating in a public Demo Day open to EDTH Community members. Challenges are sourced from frontline partners in Ukraine, the EU, and NATO. The EDTH runs a rolling series of similar hackathons across European cities; the Berlin edition is the flagship summer event.
The European Defense Tech Hackathon Berlin is a four-day defence and security innovation event organised by the European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH), held at Marienpark Berlin from 9-12 July 2026. It forms part of Berlin Defense Tech Week 2026 and is the largest single hackathon in the EDTH event series. Participants build projects addressing real-world defence and security challenges sourced from frontline organisations in Ukraine, the EU, and across NATO. The event culminates in a public Demo Day on Sunday 12 July, open to EDTH Community visitors. The organiser describes the event's overarching mission as "Deterring Aggression Through Technological Superiority."
The European Defense Tech Hub was founded to foster defence innovation in Europe by connecting builders, investors, and policymakers. It operates as a community organisation with a paid membership model (EDTH Unlimited and EDTH Investor Network) and runs a rolling programme of hackathons, meetups, field-testing days, and networking events across European cities. Previous hackathon editions have been held in Tallinn (March 2026), Munich (coinciding with the Munich Security Conference, February 2026), and other European capitals. The Berlin edition is the flagship summer event and the largest in the series by projected attendance.
The EDTH also runs a flagship conference-format event called the New Defense Summit; the hackathon series sits alongside this as the hands-on, builder-focused complement. EDTH is led by Benjamin Wolba and a small core team, with Maria Onufriievych and other partners co-hosting specific events.
The Berlin hackathon runs across four days structured as follows:
The exact address within the Marienpark Berlin complex is released to registered participants only.
The Berlin hackathon in July sits between the spring wave of European defence events (UDT in April, DSEI in September) and the summer airshow season. It is positioned within Berlin Defense Tech Week, a city-wide initiative. As a hackathon rather than a trade show, it attracts a different participant profile: software engineers, hardware builders, data scientists, and product founders rather than procurement officials or exhibiting companies. It competes for talent with other European defence innovation events such as the NATO DIANA challenges, but its cadence (multiple cities across the year) and community model differentiate it from one-off government-run competitions.
The Berlin hackathon targets three communities:
The hackathon is a non-stop build event with a structured supporting programme:
Challenge areas are refreshed for each edition and sourced from frontline partners. Based on EDTH's broader portfolio, topics typically include:
| Duration | 4 days (9-12 July 2026) |
| Projected hackers | 200+ |
| Hackathon cities in EDTH 2026 series | 4+ (Tallinn, Munich, Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, London) |
| Demo Day | open to EDTH Community members |
| Ticket types | Hacker (apply), Mentor (invitation), Community Visitor (members) |
| Post-event support | deployment pathways, jobs, funding |
No. The EDTH explicitly targets people who are new to the defence sector as well as experienced practitioners. The stated goal includes "launching new careers and companies." Builders, engineers, and product people from non-defence backgrounds are encouraged to apply; the hackathon is designed as an entry point into European defence tech.
The EDTH Community is a paid membership programme (EDTH Unlimited) that gives access to all community events for one year, including hackathon demo days, webinars, networking, and the New Defense Summit. The Demo Day on Sunday is open only to community members as visitors; sign up at community.eurodefense.tech.
The event includes an award ceremony. The organiser states that after the hackathon it helps teams take their projects toward real-world deployment, including connections to funding and job opportunities. Specific prize details for the 2026 Berlin edition had not been publicly listed at time of verification.
Marienpark Berlin is an urban business park and event venue located in the Tempelhof district of Berlin (southern Berlin). It is co-hosted by the Marienpark team and is used for creative, tech, and community events. The exact address within Marienpark is released to registered participants only; applicants are advised to register to obtain venue details. Berlin is served by Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), approximately 30 minutes by rail from the city centre. Public transport (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and bus) covers the Tempelhof area well. Accommodation is widely available across central and south Berlin.
The European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH) is a Berlin-based community organisation that describes itself as fostering defence innovation in Europe by connecting builders, investors, and policymakers. It operates a talent platform, a paid community (EDTH Unlimited and EDTH Investor Network), a newsletter (on Substack/Beehiiv), and a pan-European event series encompassing hackathons, meetups, field-testing days, and the New Defense Summit. The EDTH is organised by Benjamin Wolba (lead) with other co-organisers including Maria Onufriievych. Its mission statement is "Deterring Aggression Through Technological Superiority." The organisation is active on LinkedIn and X under the handle @Eurodefensetech. The EDTH also runs an investor network subscription product.
The European Defense Tech Hub's Berlin hackathon is the sharpest tool in European defence-innovation community-building: four days of hands-on building with real challenges sourced from Ukraine and NATO, not whiteboard speculation.
Registration is managed on the EDTH's Luma calendar (luma.com/edth-2026-berlin). Three ticket types are available:
The organiser's Luma page is the primary registration channel. EDTH Community membership gives free access to all community events, including this Demo Day, for one year.
Teams are expected to build functional prototypes during the hackathon. Participants should bring laptops, any hardware development equipment relevant to their planned project, and materials for a short pitch presentation. Wi-Fi and power are provided. Meals and refreshments during the event are typically provided; check with the organiser for the 2026 edition specifics.
Team formation is a structured part of the kick-off afternoon on Thursday. Participants without a team are matched with others during the workshop and networking sessions; solo applications are welcome.
Berlin has extensive accommodation options. The Tempelhof area and surrounding neighbourhoods (Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Schöneberg) offer a range from budget hostels to mid-range hotels. Book early for a July weekend in Berlin as the city is busy with summer visitors.
| Official website (EDTH) | https://eurodefense.tech/ |
| Event registration (Luma) | https://luma.com/edth-2026-berlin |
| https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-defense-tech/ | |
| X | https://x.com/Eurodefensetech |
| EDTH Community | https://community.eurodefense.tech/ |
| EDTH full event calendar | https://lu.ma/eurodefensetech |