European Defence Tech Hackathon (EDTH)

The event offers direct access to allied governance through official NATO working group sessions (including Dismounted Soldier Systems groups) and NSPA user groups, where standards, user requirements, and procurement strategies are discussed. For SMEs and startups, the Innovation Pavilion and Defence Lab provide beneficial-rate access to operators, investors, and decision-makers from 70+ national delegations. Its Central European position and government patronage make it a practical entry point for suppliers targeting NATO and EU markets.

The congress convenes senior Polish government, military and state-owned-enterprise decision-makers alongside technology suppliers, making it a venue for suppliers and SMEs to reach public-sector buyers and prime contractors. Sessions on technological sovereignty, public-private partnership, procurement (PZP) and defence funding map directly to commercial opportunities for domestic vendors. For startups and SMEs it offers direct visibility with ministries and critical-infrastructure operators who set requirements and budgets.

With European defence budgets at historic highs, programme and portfolio management professionals face acute pressure to deliver capability faster and with greater governance rigour — making this one of the few senior forums specifically dedicated to defence PPM execution rather than technology or procurement. The deliberately small delegate cap (80) means decision-makers — not mid-level attendees — fill the room, creating high-density networking with programme directors and PMO heads who control major delivery budgets. For PPM-tooling vendors, digital-engineering firms, and consulting SMEs, it is a rare access point to the European defence programme leadership tier without the noise of a large trade show.