Defence Innovation Day 2026
Join us on 21 September for Defence Innovation Day 2026, the opening event of Estonian Defence Week.
This year’s programme centres on three themes shaping defence innovation today: Who Builds, Who Scales: Inside Defence Innovation, Battlefield Innovation: Lessons from Ukraine, and Resilience Under Pressure: Protecting Borders, Infrastructure and Society.
Across the three blocks, the programme will explore how technologies move towards operational use, what Europe and NATO can learn from Ukraine’s experience, and how innovation can strengthen border security, critical infrastructure and societal resilience.
Programme highlights include the keynote “Frontline Innovation: One Year of Lessons from the Field” by Major Ivo Peets, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces’ Force Transformation Command.
The panel “Dual-Use in Action: From Civilian Innovation to Defence Capability” will be moderated by journalist Kaur Maran and will feature Kadri Tammai, NATO DIANA Regional Director; Kaimo Kuusk, Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defence; and Janne Hietala, CEO of Kelluu.
The panel “What Does Success Look Like in Defence Tech?”, moderated by journalist Fiona Alston, will bring together Martin Karkour, CEO of Quantum Systems; Veiko-Vello Palm, COO of Frankenburg Technologies; and Rait Maasikas, CEO of UP Catalyst.
The panel “Security at Our Doorstep: Tech to Protect Our Borders from Andalusia to Lapland” will be moderated by Vootele Päi, Head of Defence and Dual-Use at Tehnopol, and will feature Egert Belitšev, Director General of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board; Darek Saunders, Head of the Research and Innovation Unit at Frontex; and Oliver Väärtnõu, CEO of Cybernetica.
The programme will also feature pitches from NATO DIANA Estonian Accelerator alumni:
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IS-Wireless, presenting dual-use private 5G for extreme environments
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DATAMBIT, presenting AI-powered deepfake detection
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SkyFi, presenting on-demand access to satellite imagery and analytics
Defence Innovation Day brings together civilian startups with dual-use potential, defence technology companies, end users, investors, public-sector representatives and other stakeholders from Estonia and across NATO.
Visitors can also explore more than a dozen company booths and submit questions to speakers online in real time.
Event details
📅 Date: 21 September 2026
🕘 Time: 10:00–16:00, doors open at 09:30
📍 Location: Kultuurikatel / Tallinn Creative Hub, Kursi 3, Tallinn
👥 Format: In-person only
🎫 Ticket: Free of charge, but registration is mandatory
🗣️ Language: English only
Registration
Click register above or use this link:
https://edw.ee/en/estonian-defence-week/did/registration-form/
Please note that while the event is free of charge, registration is mandatory and participation is subject to prior approval by the organisers.
Questions?
Kati Kirsipuu, Project Manager at Tehnopol
kati.kirsipuu@tehnopol.ee
Defence Innovation Day is organised by Tehnopol and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications through the NATO DIANA Estonian Accelerator. It is supported by the Ministry of Defence of Estonia, with one programme block co-curated by Sparkup Tartu Science Park.
We look forward to seeing you in Tallinn.
Agenda subject to change.