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The Norwegian drone company Tiepoint is donating the entire prize from its victory at the NORDSEC EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2026 to Fritt Ukraina. The first prize of €6,000 will go in full to the organisation’s efforts to support Ukrainian units at the front.
“This is technology developed to solve real challenges in war. It feels right that the prize also goes directly to those facing this every day,” says Mats Mikalsen Kristensen, Managing Director of Tiepoint.
The company, based at Andøya and working with advanced drone systems, autonomy and artificial intelligence, has established itself as an innovative player in defence technology. During the hackathon in Trondheim, the team won with an AI-based solution for interceptor drones, designed to increase accuracy and reduce the need for manual control.
The theme of the hackathon was “Defending airspace,” and Tiepoint won with a project within low-cost interceptor drones.
Tiepoint’s winning solution is an AI-driven autonomy system that can be integrated into both existing and future drones. It uses vision-based detection and tracking combined with reinforcement learning to identify and follow targets, enabling autonomous interception without requiring advanced FPV piloting skills from the operator.
“A key objective of the project is to develop autonomy and AI that can scale across platforms, addressing the challenge of low-cost, mass-produced UAV threats without relying on elite pilots,” Kristensen explains.
Second place in the competition went to Halodyne, which developed an autonomous, mobile counter-drone platform for close-range defence. Third place was awarded to the team SPARK from the Norwegian Home Guard, with a scalable and cost-efficient drone detection solution based on acoustic sensor networks. Together, the top three teams demonstrate the breadth of emerging defence solutions—from detection to effect—tailored to the modern threat landscape.
Has supported previously
This is not the first time Tiepoint has contributed to Fritt Ukraina. The company has previously supported the organisation’s work and has over time established close cooperation with a Ukrainian unit that also receives support from Fritt Ukraina.
“We have followed the work of Fritt Ukraina for a long time and have seen firsthand how much this type of support matters operationally. That gives us extra motivation to contribute when we can,” says Kristensen.
Through this cooperation, Tiepoint has gained first-hand insight into needs on the ground, which also influences how the company develops its technology.
Connecting technology with operational reality
Fritt Ukraina collaborates with several Ukrainian units, including within drone operations and air defence. The donation from Tiepoint helps further strengthen this work. It sends a strong signal when technology environments like Tiepoint not only develop solutions, but also actively support those using them in practice.
“The support from Tiepoint will go directly into our air defence projects,” says director General Natalia Golis.
Tiepoint will now move on to the European EUDIS programme, where they will further develop their solution in competition with winners from several European countries. At the same time, they are choosing to donate the prize money to support Ukraine—a clear expression of the company’s commitment beyond its own technology development.
The hackathon is part of a broader European initiative to accelerate defence innovation and lower the barrier to entry for new players entering the sector. Winning teams from each national event gain access to a follow-up mentoring programme and the opportunity to pitch their solutions at EU level.
The event was organised by NORDSEC – Nordic Defence and Security Cluster in collaboration with, among others, NTNU Social Research / Safety and Security and SINTEF, as well as key actors in the defence sector. This underlines Trondheim’s growing position as a hub for defence and security innovation.
Across the three winning teams, a clear common denominator emerged: solutions grounded in real operational needs, designed for scalability, and ready to move beyond the prototype stage.
Read more: Tiepoint takes first place with AI-powered interception