European Defence Tech Hackathon Showcases Sovereign Innovation at Sheffield’s Pennine Five

Sheffield, on the 20^th of July 2025, engineers, technologists, and innovators gathered at Pennine Five for the final day of the 3-day European Defence Tech Hackathon, a landmark event focused on developing rapid, deployable solutions to urgent defence and humanitarian challenges.

Hosted over three days in the heart of Sheffield’s Innovation Spine, the hackathon brought together over 70 participants, with contributors joining remotely from across Europe. Designed to bridge cutting-edge innovation with real-world operational needs, the event reflects a growing emphasis on sovereign capability and dual-use technologies across the UK and allied nations.

The programme opened on Friday 18th July with a mission briefing based on operational inputs in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and UK based defence partners. From there, participants formed teams and began developing solutions to complex field challenges, ranging from drone interception and EW (electronic warfare) countermeasures to battlefield communications and AI-assisted targeting systems.

Teams also had the opportunity to build their own drones using Pilotix drone kits, providing hands-on technical experience with hardware under realistic mission constraints.

“By hosting this event in Sheffield, we’re reinforcing the role of regional innovation hubs in supporting national resilience and dual-use capability development.” Said Peter Hopton of Atuin.Ventures.

Winning projects included:

First Place – GUI for Personal Impact Ballistic Alert System
Fredrik Mayer, Kamil Amin, Gabriele Barteskaite

Second Place – Stronghold AI: Electronic Warfare Defence Against FPV Drones
Rafael Licursi, Jonathan Armstrong

Third Place – Autonomous Targeting for Low-Cost Drone Interceptors
Hugh Hopkins, Tim Swait

Challenge sets addressed topics such as last-mile navigation in GNSS-denied environments, situational awareness for frontline medics, and protection against drone-based threats in contested airspace.

“The level of collaboration across disciplines, borders, and sectors was outstanding,” said Ben Wolba. “This kind of practical engagement is exactly what’s needed to develop solutions that are viable not just in concept but in deployment.”

The event was hosted at Pennine Five, a landmark redevelopment and growing tech community at the centre of Sheffield’s Innovation Spine – home to a growing cluster of advanced technology firms, digital start-ups, and innovation-led organisations.

Pennine Five is right at the centre of Sheffield’s growing tech scene,” said Jeremy Hughes, Director at RBH Properties. “We’re building a place where ambitious, future-thinking companies can grow. Whether they’re working in AI, defence, robotics or deep tech, it’s exciting to see the kind of talent that’s coming through the doors.”