Defense specialists will test solutions for drone detection, autonomous drones based on artificial intelligence, and robotic systems for identifying anti-personnel mines, as well as other inventions in the field, during the international hackathon "Defense-X 2026" (Defense-X 2026), organized by the Romanian Land Forces Academy "Nicolae Balcescu" in Sibiu from June 21 to 23, according to a press release quoted by BTA.
"The main novelty of the Defense-X 2026 edition is the introduction of a component dedicated to demonstrations and practical validation. This allows testing of developed solutions in a framework close to real operational conditions and facilitates direct dialogue between developers, end users and decision makers. Through this approach, Defense-X strengthens its role as an accelerator of defense innovation, contributing to the identification, validation and development of technologies with real potential for implementation. Defense-X today represents more than a technology event. It is a platform for collaboration and connection between the military environment, universities, research institutes, startups and industry, with the aim of transforming technical expertise and innovative ideas into concrete opportunities for national security," the press release says.
According to the cited source, "participants will demonstrate innovative solutions in strategic areas such as cybersecurity and threat intelligence, autonomous systems and robotics, artificial intelligence for tactical communications and decision support, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) and UGV (unmanned ground vehicles) systems, electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum monitoring, simulation, training and virtual reality, as well as Edge AI and sustainable digital infrastructure for field operations."
Among the projects participating in the competition are AEGIS Drone – an autonomous drone equipped with cameras, radar and sensors to detect and classify threats using machine learning algorithms, PADEVar Team – a passive early warning network for drone detection that uses Android smartphones as distributed sensors, and SkyDetectors – a solution designed to integrate drones into controlled airspace.