Why it matters
For defense SMEs and startups, this is one of the few European venues where hardware can be tested on a live runway in front of military operators and procurement officials in a single setting, compressing months of relationship-building into four days. Investors scouting pre-Series A European defense-tech companies will encounter the continent's most active builder community before most institutional channels do. The event directly feeds the EDTH-to-deployment pipeline that has already spun out companies from the hackathon circuit, making early presence here a meaningful competitive signal.
About
The first European Defense Tech Festival is a four-day live-demonstration and field-testing event hosted at the historic AirportPark Berlin-Neuhardenberg airfield, approximately 50 km east of Berlin. Organized by the European Defense Tech Hub, it brings together 1,000+ builders, EDTH hackathon alumni, early-stage startups, military operators, investors, and procurement officials for workshops, live drone flights, autonomous systems tests, counter-UAS demonstrations, and a final public demo day. The event is the capstone of the EDTH hackathon circuit, designed to bridge the gap between prototype and deployment by giving teams direct access to operators, investors, and industry decision-makers. Attendance requires either a builder application, mentor invitation, or an active EDTH community membership.
Market intel
Cheap pricingmedium confidence
This is the inaugural flagship showcase event of the European Defense Tech Hub, evolving from a hackathon circuit that has run across Munich, Tallinn, Brussels, Warsaw, Paris, Stockholm, London, and other European cities since 2024. No traditional exhibitor list exists; participating teams are drawn exclusively from EDTH's alumni builder community. Specific ticket pricing for the EDTH community membership subscription was not publicly disclosed in available sources.
AI-researched Tue, 11 August 2026. Estimates from public sources. Verify with the organizer.
Topics
UAS / DronesC-UASAutonomy & RoboticsAIDual-use
Who it's for
StartupsSMEsInvestorsInstitutions
