Join the next Cycle of BraveTechEU DefTech Forges and claim your place in the history of the European defence ecosystem.
The next challenge will take place in mid-November 2026 in Germany and Romania and will focus on:
- Unattended ground sensors: acoustic and seismic networks tested against cadets, vehicles and drones
- Autonomous strike UAS and swarms: supervised flight testing, swarm autonomy, sensor-to-shooter integration, decentralised mission execution and resilient multi-drone coordination
- EW-resilient UAS operations: controlled jamming to test navigation, communications and mission continuity
- Rapid battlefield adaptation: flight-line reconfiguration, on-site payload reconfiguration, modular payloads, software updates, rapid hardware prototyping and test–fix–retest cycles
- RF seekers and terminal guidance: passive, semi-active and active RF detection, tracking and precision guidance
This will be an opportunity to evaluate your prototypes with national armed forces — flight windows, controlled jamming, and test conditions designed to mirror the pressures of a contested battlefield rather than a controlled lab environment.
Why apply?
- Realistic testing and experimentation conditions for your solutions
- Direct feedback from military end-users and technical experts
- Hands-on mentoring to improve operational relevance, integration and readiness
- A chance to win €120,000 in prize money per winning team
- A continued path to Phase II of Operational Experimentation, in coordination with the European Defence Agency
Registration
Key dates
- Launch of the Call: Monday 10 August
- Application deadline: Sunday 6 September
- Info session: Tuesday 25 August
- Delivery timeframe: 9 – 13 November
Useful documents
General publications10 August 2026
Rules of Contest_DefTech Forges_Edition#2 Germany
General publications10 August 2026
