EDA to Test BraveTech EU Phase II Defence Innovators

BraveTech EU Phase II EDA Will Work with the First Group of Innovators

2026-07-19 Source: Press release European Defence Agency, adapted by 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

European Commission, the EDA and the Minister of Defence of Ukraine announced in Kyiv six winners of the first-ever BraveTech EU Phase I. EDA will now work with them to experiment with their solutions in realistic operational conditions under the BraveTech EU Phase II.

The winners successfully passed the BraveTech EU Phase I – intensive technology testing bootcamps that helped them progress with their innovative solutions. During the next phase, EDA will guide the companies to develop their technologies further, and experiment in a battlefield-like environment. The operational experimentation will take place in parallel to the EU OPEX in Portugal and will generate evidence to support further maturation of the technologies and potential military adoption.

"Innovation alone is not enough — it must be tested, trusted and rapidly turned into military capability,” said EDA’s Chief Executive André Denk at the award ceremony in Kyiv. “Through BraveTech EU, the European Defence Agency offers faster experimentation with operational rigour. By connecting innovation with real operational needs, we generate the trusted evidence that military users need to strengthen both Ukraine's immediate defence requirements and Europe's long-term defence readiness.”

The six winners

The companies selected for the BraveTech EU Phase II dedicated to experimentation are:

Soraccel (France) - developer of complete multi-UAV systems, based on hierarchical drone swarms
EdgeX Robotics (Poland) - modular unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) platform multi-role 4x4
Smaesh GmbH (Germany) - multi-radio mesh, combining LoRa, Wi-Fi HaLow, Wi-Fi and BLE for resilient robotic and tactical connectivity
Kova Labs (Finland) - cost-effective fully autonomous systems for complex low-altitude environments
Tempterno Defence (Estonia) - multi-rocket launcher concept for counter UAS and land target engagement
Rannon (Latvia) - rocket-propelled ammunition for drone-to-drone air combat

Testing of innovative drone technologies during BraveTech EU Phase I.
(Source: European Defence Agency)

During Phase II, each company will demonstrate its solution against scenarios refined together with EDA and Portuguese Army experts. These include, for example, multi-drone reconnaissance missions, unmanned ground vehicle support tasks, or maintaining connectivity under deliberately degraded conditions. The companies will have the opportunity to operate their systems alongside EU OPEX participants.

After the campaign in Portugal, four most advanced technologies from BraveTech Phase II will continue the experimentation in 2027.

About BraveTech EU

BraveTech EU aims to accelerate defence innovation by building on battlefield challenges and strengthening cooperation between the EU and Ukraine. It brings together the European Commission, the European Defence Agency and Ukraine’s BRAVE1 Defence tech platform. The initiative runs multiple cycles between 2026 and 2028.

EDA is responsible for BraveTech EU Phase II with the total budget of €35 million until the end of 2028. The Agency’s role is to organise experimentation of the promising solutions in realistic conditions, with military expertise from Ukraine and EU Member States, so that innovation becomes trusted, scalable and usable. Through this structured approach, the Agency helps EU Member States and Ukraine increase their defence readiness and stimulate future capability development.

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.