The hackathon on countering fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones, organized by JATEC, attracted a record number of proposals, with a quarter submitted from Ukraine

Developers submitted a total of 162 proposals to the NATO Innovation Challenge, the international competition organized by the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC). This hackathon is dedicated to countering fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones.

The 16th NATO Innovation Challenge attracted a record-breaking number of applications—the highest in the history of NATO’s innovation hackathons. 

Included among the submissions are 42 proposals from Ukrainian developers, reflecting the robust development of defense technologies despite russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

According to Colonel Valerii Vyshnivskyi, JATEC Director for Programme Implementation, Ukraine’s participation provides an opportunity for our developers to gain recognition at the NATO level. “This significantly enhances technological interoperability between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO forces, which is essential to collective security,” he said.

The innovation competitions are held under the leadership of NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT). This year, JATEC has already hosted a hackathon on countering guided aerial bombs (GABs), with Ukrainian experts joining the jury panel for the first time.

The current competition focuses on identifying technologies capable of effectively countering FPV drones that exhibit exceptional resilience to electronic warfare measures.

Pierre Delom, Coordinator of the NATO Innovation Challenge, noted: “The Innovation Challenge brings together operators, innovators, and decision-makers at an early stage of the process to turn battlefield needs into scalable, interoperable solutions. This enables NATO to engage a broad network of startups, academia, and industry in implementing breakthrough ideas.”

The proposals submitted for the competition on countering FPV drones are currently being evaluated. The finalists will be announced on 20 June in Tallinn during a public presentation of the hackathon results.

The winners of the competition will not only gain access to NATO’s expert community but also new opportunities to integrate their technologies into joint defence initiatives, thereby strengthening the defence capabilities of Ukraine and its NATO allies.