EUDIS Hackathon and Mentorship - GERMANY Autumn

EUDIS DEFENCE HACKATHON AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME

The EUDIS Defence Hackathon will be hosted in eight simultaneous hackathons at different national locations across EU Member States and Norway that tackle pressing defence challenges for the European Defence industry.

In addition to local prizes, the eight national hackathon winners gain access to 40 hours of mentoring programme held over two months, get to pitch in front of EU Member States representatives, and the top three EU-wide winners get to attend an international high-tech event to pitch their solutions. The mentoring programme will support the eight winning teams in building sustainable and successful businesses, introducing them to important defence knowledge and contacts.

EUDIS DEFENCE HACKATHON  IN GERMANY

The EUDIS Defence Hackathon in the Germany is hosted by

APPLICATION: Register for the hackathon!

Ready to dive into the EUDIS Hackathon &  Mentorship program?  Begin by clicking either the "⚡ LOG IN TO JOIN" or "⚡JOIN HACKATHON" button, depending on whether you're already a TAIKAI member or need to create a new account. 

Your registration is complete after submitting the registration form. Congratulations, you're in!  Your next mission: assemble your team. Head over to the matchmaking section to find collaborators.  Remember, teams must be finalized before the Hackathon Weekend kicks off.
TAIKAI will not be used for Jury and mentoring.

THREE CHALLENGES*: Which one will you solve?

*Please note that our challenges are referred to as 'Categories' inside the TAIKAI platform!

01 Protection of space assets – detect, analyse and counter threats in space  

With adversaries developing anti-satellite weapons, orbital jammers, and cyberattacks, Europe's space assets (navigation, communications, and Earth observation) are under threat. This challenge addresses the need for solutions that contribute to protect space assets from fast-developing threats through detection and analysis capacity (support to space domain awareness) and countermeasures.

02 Space for defence – Earth-Observation, Navigation, Communication, and coordination of multi-domain military operations

This challenge addresses the need for innovative space-based solutions to support military missions and operations, including in the field of earth-observation, positioning, navigation and timing, secured communications, space-based missile early-warning, and collection and processing of multi-sources data (and increased resilience of such capabilities).

03 Sovereign Aerospace – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Management, Production, and Countermeasures

Autonomous drones (military and civilian), aircraft, and weapon systems are redefining aerospace. The challenge addresses the need for innovative solutions in different areas.

• Airspace monitoring solutions to detect and respond to hostile or unknown airborne objects with automated countermeasures.
• Better recognition and disablement of fibre-optic drones in ambush situations.
• Repurposing existing space hardware and software for military application in the aerospace domain with the focus on launch systems, clearance, and trajectory calculations.
• Developing drone management hardware and software related to navigation, vision, and AI to enable independent flight and decision-making at scale for intelligence gathering and air support.
• Manufacturing drone hardware and prototyping capabilities to increase drone capabilities and scaling.

THE SUB-CHALLENGES*: Want to solve real competitions?

1. AIRBUS Defence & Space: "Swarm Communication"  In this challenge, a communication protocol is to be developed and implemented for a drone swarm flying from Augsburg to Munich without continuous contact to the UAV Ground Control Station (GCS). The protocol must ensure that the drones within the swarm are able to detect when a unit has been compromised and deviates from the designated waypoints. At the same time, the planned route must not be explicitly shared among the drones in order to maintain the security and confidentiality of the mission planning.

2. TDW Gesellschaft für verteidigungstechnische Wirksysteme mbH: "From Boom to Strike"  ,  "Maximum effect with minimum complexity" Challenge Statement: How might we transform a 110 mm warhead into a fully operational autonomous strike system with the fewest possible components? The challenge is to combine simplicity, precision, and autonomy into a compact and scalable solution for contested environments. The goal: maximum effect with minimum complexity. Key Objectives: Integrate a 110 mm warhead as the central payload with minimal additional components • Ensure autonomy in guidance, targeting, and mission execution • Design for simplicity, robustness, and cost-efficiency •    Enable modularity and adaptability across mission profiles •    Deliver precision effects with minimal collateral impact!

3. OHB: "Autonomous, resilient, and real-time capable satellite communication"   is the backbone of building a sovereign, secure, and future-proof space infrastructure. To achieve this, conventional routing techniques must be fundamentally reimagined for dynamic, space-based networks that operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). These networks face unique challenges, including constantly shifting topologies, potentially sparse constellations, and inherently disruptive connectivity. To remain robust under such conditions, routing protocols must be adaptive, delay-optimized, and engineered for both failure tolerance and resilience against accidental disruptions as well as malicious threats. Delay and bandwidth optimization is particularly critical, ensuring not only efficiency but also mission continuity. The proposals are not restricted to traditional routing approaches; instead, they embrace innovation by exploring AI-driven techniques, machine-learning and other modern optimization tools to discover optimal solutions!

4. Ariane Group: Robustness and Reliability of SSA Data  

A reliable space situational awareness (SSA) relies on the quality of the underlying data and data sources. Yet, SSA data vary widely in terms of accuracy, timeliness, and availability. Observations may be faulty, inaccurate, or even contradictory—especially when dealing with small objects or highly dynamic scenarios.

The core challenge lies in assessing the trustworthiness of different data sources, making uncertainties transparent, and creating resilient situational awareness even under difficult conditions.

This sub-challenge invites you to design solutions that can evaluate and weigh the reliability of multiple SSA data sources, handle inconsistent or faulty inputs, and implement robust mechanisms to safeguard situational awareness. 

The ultimate goal: strengthen the resilience and trustworthiness of European SSA systems.

5. Quantum Systems: More information is yet to come – stay tuned!

HACKERS: Who can participate?

You must be a citizen AND resident from EU/Norway/Ukraine and be 18 years or older to participate in the hackathon competition. Failure to provide proof during the hackathon on such terms will disqualify you. All teams must have at least 2 members and a submitted project. (To register you don't need a team - go to FAQ for more information)

IMPORTANT DATES

01 Pre-hackathon webinars: 

          Germany: 25 September 2025  / 13:00 - 14:00 CET +1 - Participation link

Get insights from our experts on what to expect during the hackathon. Learn about the structure, challenges, and opportunities to maximise your impact.

02 Registration closes : October 10th

The final date to register for the hackathon. Make sure your team is signed up and ready by this date!

03 Hackathon weekend : October 17th - 19th

Across eight simultaneous locations in Europe teams develop solutions to three important defence challenges. 

04 Mentorship program : October 28th

Engage in a focused mentorship phase where you'll refine your ideas with the help of experienced mentors and prepare your solutions for the hackathon.

05 Live pitching in front of EU member states

After the mentorship program, winners will have the unique opportunity to participate in an exclusive EU-wide live pitching competition on .

This is an exciting next step for the top teams to showcase their innovative solutions, compete against other top participants across Europe, and potentially secure further EU recognition and awards.