Post by InnovationQuarter

You have a working prototype or validated technology for securing airspace. What’s the next step? Bringing it further means validating it with defence stakeholders, stress-testing it in real operational scenarios and connecting with the organisations that could actually deploy it. From 26–28 March 2026, the EUDIS Defence Hackathon will take place at Unmanned Valley in Katwijk, as one of eight simultaneous hackathons across Europe. During these three days, teams will work on the theme “Defending Airspace”, tackling challenges such as detecting and countering hostile drones. What makes hackathons like this particularly valuable is the opportunity to engage directly with experts from across the defence, industry and research landscape, such as the Ministry of Defence, TNO, NLR, InnovationQuarter and leading industry partners. The hackathon is organised under the lead of Groundstation.Space, hosted by Unmanned Valley, and made possible through co-financing from Provincie Zuid-Holland via Kansen voor West (EFRO). InnovationQuarter supports the organisation of this hackathon together with regional partners. We contribute to the proposal process, help attract the right participants and experts, and support teams during and after the hackathon in exploring pathways to further development and commercialisation. In doing so, we help connect promising innovations to the broader ecosystem of companies, knowledge institutions and funding opportunities. 👉 Interested in participating? More information and registration via the link in the comments. Stefan van Seters | Jos Maccabiani | Martijn Seijger | Wendy Mensink | EU Defence and Security | MINDEF (NL) | Military Innovation by Doing | NL Space Campus | TNO | NLR - Netherlands Aerospace Centre | Security Delta (HSD) | Provincie Zuid-Holland | InnovationQuarter