Winners announced in NATO hackathon on assisting Ukraine in countering guided aerial bombs

The 15th NATO Innovation Challenge hackathon, dedicated to finding effective solutions to counter glide and guided aerial bombs (GABs)—one of the most significant threats in modern warfare—concluded at the JATEC base in Poland. The event was organized by the NATO Innovation Hub and the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC).

This year, for the first time, Ukrainian innovators, developers, and researchers were permitted to participate in the hackathon. Previously, participation in the NATO Innovation Challenge was limited to representatives of NATO member states.

The hackathon received proposals from 40 teams, with 13 advancing to the final round following a selection process. The finalists presented technological solutions to counter GABs, including AI-equipped drone interceptors, drone swarms, electronic warfare technologies, and radars with coordinate-shifting capabilities. 

The winner was the French company Alta Ares, which presented its development, ‘Embedded Artificial Intelligence for Recognition, Detection, and Identification.’ This solution leverages AI algorithms for early detection, rapid identification, and real-time decision-making support.

Second place went to Tytan Technologies GmbH from Germany, recognized for its advanced solution designed to counter aerial targets. 

French team ATREYD took third place for an innovative approach to detecting and predicting the trajectory of aerial targets, as well as a method for their interception using a swarm of container-based interceptors. 

A special prize was awarded to a Ukrainian team for their electronic warfare (EW) project.

“Countering enemy aerial threats remains a top priority. The ideas proposed by the teams show promise in addressing this challenge. We will collaborate, test, and evaluate the selected technologies,” commented Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Valerii Churkin, on the results.

To further develop the selected solutions, NATO expert institutions will be engaged to analyze the proposed technologies. The next step involves testing and evaluating these solutions in combat conditions to confirm or refute their claimed capabilities.

The ultimate goal of this research is to transfer the solutions to Ukraine, enabling the potential for contracts with companies that will demonstrate the effectiveness of their products and technologies. Rapid implementation and deployment of solutions to counter the threat posed by guided aerial bombs is a priority objective for the Ministry of Defence and the Command of the Air Force of Ukraine.