Ukraine submits quarter of all applications to NATO’s Innovation Challenge on countering fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

“The JATEC hackathon on countering fiber-optic FPV drones received a record number of proposals — a quarter of them came from Ukraine,” the statement reads.

According to the Ministry, developers submitted 162 proposals to the International Innovation Challenge organized by the NATO–Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC). The challenge targets FPV drones operated via fiber-optic cable, and this 16th edition of NATO’s innovation hackathon drew the highest number of applications in its history. Among them were 42 project proposals from Ukrainian developers, underscoring Ukraine’s strong defense tech innovation, even amid the ongoing Russian war.

Colonel Valerii Vyshnivskyi, Senior National Representative of Ukraine to JATEC and Director of Program Implementation, emphasized that Ukraine’s participation allows its developers to gain recognition at the NATO level.

“This significantly enhances technological interoperability between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and NATO forces, which is crucial for collective security,” he stated.

The press service also highlighted that NATO’s Allied Command Transformation oversees the innovation challenges. Earlier this year, JATEC conducted a hackathon on countering guided aerial bombs (GABs), where Ukrainian experts joined the jury panel for the first time.

The current competition focuses on identifying technologies capable of countering FPV drones, which have shown exceptional resistance to electronic warfare (EW) systems.

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

According to the Ministry of Defense, proposals submitted for the fiber-optic FPV drone countermeasure challenge are currently under review. The finalists will be announced on June 20 in Tallinn during a public presentation of the hackathon results.

The winners will gain access to NATO’s expert ecosystem, along with new opportunities to integrate their technologies into joint defense initiatives — ultimately strengthening the defense capabilities of both Ukraine and its NATO allies, the Ministry emphasized.

As Ukrinform previously reported, on June 8, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate announced the winners of an international OSINT hackathon, which included teams from the U.S., Ukraine, the UK, and the Netherlands.