BraveTechEU DefTech Forges 2026: Apply for €120,000 Prize

€120,000 prize money Call for Participants: 2nd Edition of the BraveTechEU DefTech Forges

2026-08-14 Source: Press release European Commission, adapted by 1 min Reading Time

The European Commission has opened applications for the second BraveTechEU DefTech Forges, focusing on UAS strike capabilities, resilient operations and sensor networks. Start-ups and innovators can apply by 6 September 2026, with the programme taking place from 9 to 13 November.

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

For more information and registration please visit the website of the European Commission.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.