Drone Innovation Hackathon brings drone developers together to compete at Nokia Arena

Startups, drone companies and industry professionals will tackle company-defined challenges at the event, held on 21–23 January 2026. A prize pool of €15,000 will be awarded to the winners of the challenges. In addition, one standout team may be selected for the 17Tech accelerator programme (17tech.fi), offering up to €40,000 in funding. The opportunity includes expert drone development support in Ukraine as well as collaboration with leading players in the field.

Drone Innovation Hackathon will take place at Nokia Arena.

The hackathon offers a unique environment for developing and testing next-generation drones, counter-drone solutions and entirely new concepts.

In addition to the €15,000 prize pool, rising drone companies will be drawn to opportunities such as entry into the defence-sector-focused 17Tech accelerator programme and access to exclusive 5G and drone testing facilities.

The hackathon challenges are:

The Invisible Intruder
Drone solutions that can challenge advanced counter-drone systems and demonstrate low-visibility and evasive capabilities. Teams will explore how drones can avoid detection, identification or interception by using techniques such as signal spoofing or sensor deception. All solutions will be tested live at Nokia Arena.

5G-Driven Drone Innovation
Teams fly their drones on an obstacle course without direct line of sight. FPV video and drone control rely entirely on a 4G/5G connection. All solutions will be tested live at Nokia Arena.

Low Signature Drone Design
A drone must fly across the arena as quietly as possible, attempting to approach the Elisa Defence Node base station without being detected. All solutions will be tested live at Nokia Arena.

The hackathon gives participants a chance to help shape the future of drone innovation in Finland.

Applications are open until 6 January 2026:
https://new.ultrahack.org/hackathons/drone-innovation-at-5g-counter-drone-arena

Event partners will select the teams invited to tackle the challenges.

More information about the January Hackathon will be shared in a webinar on 11 December, where experts and partners will present the project, challenges and practical details.

Registration for the 11 December webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mSNYN0xKQdypw5oF5BBfVg#/registration

Drone Innovation Hackathon at Nokia Arena is organised by Business Tampere and Ultrahack in close cooperation with Elisa, Crown Defence, Nokia, Unikie, Digital Defence Ecosystem, Patria, TUNI, TAMK, City of Tampere, 17Tech, Innoavia, Loopshore, Missing-Link, Pirkanmaan Liitto, Tampere Chamber of Commerce and the Location Innovation Hub.

For more information about the Hackathon:
Juhani Kivikangas, +358 40 556 1228, juhani.kivikangas@ultrahack.org
or tero.kyckling@businesstampere.com