London Defense Tech Hackathon was held to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities

London has become home for a new Defense Tech Hackathon, which was held with an idea in mind to enhance Ukraine’s asymmetric warfare capabilities against Russia. The event was organized by Alex Fitzgerald and Richard Pass. It happened just after the UK’s announcement of its largest military support package for Ukraine amounting to £3 billion, according to TechCrunch.

About London Defense Tech Hackathon

• London Defense Tech Hackathon brought together developers skilled in both hardware and software to foster innovation in defense, national security, and deep tech. There was a key focus on drones and their applications on the battlefield, both the hardware and the electronic systems needed to fly them to their targets and counter-drone systems.

• The event was organized by Alex Fitzgerald from Skyral and Richard Pass from Future Forces. The two were joined by co-organizers that included the Honourable Artillery Company, Apollo Defense, Lambda Automata, and the D3 VC firm among others.

Defense tech is a difficult industry to enter. And it’s a difficult market to break into, for obvious reasons. We’ve found hackathons an extremely exciting way for people to get involved because defense technology can seem like a giant black box of contracts that take 10 years, and technologies that are built hidden from the public eye. At a hackathon, you have 24 hours. Make something really cool,

Catarina Buchatskiy from Apollo Defense commented.

• The NATO Investment Fund’s presence demonstrated NATO’s commitment to European defense innovation. Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, a fund partner, stressed the fund’s focus on collective defense and resilience solutions.
• Alex Flamant, an HCVC investor, emphasized the importance of European defense technology investment and demystifying the market for young entrepreneurs. The hackathon participants wanted to help solve security issues, including drone detection and monitoring.