The team of Pavlo Melnyk, a WASP alum and postdoc at Linköping University, and António Ramires from University of Minho won one of the challenges in the Drone Defense Hackathon 2026 (DDH26) with a real-time machine learning approach for detecting and classifying flying objects.
The national hackathon was organized by KTH Center for Total Defense, KTH Innovation, LiU Innovation and other partners across academia, industry and defense. It brought together 35 teams addressing several operational defense and security challenges related to counter-UAS.
The proposed solutions covered areas including counter-drone technology, AI-supported situational awareness, sensor integration, resilient communication systems and the protection of critical infrastructure.
A real-time machine learning solution
The challenge focused on developing accurate, efficient and robust methods for detecting and classifying flying objects. Melnyk’s team created a real-time machine learning approach that met the challenge’s core requirements.
“Our approach was guided by an initial, pragmatic statistical analysis that helped us identify promising directions and informed the development of our method,” says Melnyk.
The team is now looking forward to the next stage of the competition, where they will have the opportunity to further develop and evaluate their approach with partner organizations.
Accelerating defense innovation
Nicole Kringos, co-director for KTH Center for Total Defense, highlights the hackathon’s strong results and the value of collaboration between universities as part of a more capable defense innovation eco system.
”We were very impressed by how several universities, including Linköping University, mobilized around DDH26. Within a short timeframe, 35 research and student teams were formed across Sweden. In total, 64 proposals were submitted addressing 21 real operational challenges. This is exactly the kind of collaboration needed to accelerate defense innovation and translate vast academic expertise into practical impact”
New hackathon in December
A new hackathon sprint will be launched 1-20 December, this time on Nordic level together with Ukraine.
”The length and format allow researchers and students to plan and participate parallel to ongoing research and studies. A closer collaboration with industry and mentors is also beneficial,” says Nicole.
The hackathon is launched together with the Nordic5Tech collaboration and the Special Interest Group (SIG) of Swedish universities working with defense innovation.
Deadline for registration is November 25.
Published: October 23rd, 2026
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