Innovation Day 2026: Future Combat Solutions

Innovation Day 2026: Future Combat Solutions

The event brings together Danish Defence, industry, investors, researchers, and students (Post Docs, PhD & MSc candidates) to explore emerging technologies that are shaping the future battlefield.

Innovation Day is designed to give participants the opportunity to demonstrate new ideas and prototypes that showcases new capabilities or demonstrable improvements on existing capabilities in realistic military environments by operational units.  Technologies should be at TRL 4+ and ready for field testing with minimal logistical support from the Danish Armed Forces.

Who Should Attend?

• Companies
• Investors
• Researchers
• Students

Participants can demonstrate technologies and solutions within one of the following three challenge areas:

1. Future weapons and combat technologies
   Danish Defence seeks future weapon and combat technologies that demonstrate measurable improvements in a soldier’s combat effectiveness.
2. Military Medical Operations 
   Danish Defence seeks innovative medical technologies that can increase survivability and maintain soldiers’ health in situations where evacuation or resupply is limited.
   
   
3. Detection and Counter‑Detection
   Danish defence seeks technologies and solutions for signature management and neutralization in a sensor‑dense battlespace.
   Due to safety considerations and space limitations, the Armed Forces will make the final decision as to who can participate.

Why attend?
Participants will gain the following from participating:

• Technology demonstrations in field conditions
• Feedback from Armed Forces personnel
• Networking with Defence, industry, investors and R&D community
• Matchmaking

Participants will have the chance to demonstrate their technologies in realistic military settings through the event’s operational stations. These environments allow participants to observe how their solutions perform when used by soldiers in the field.
Investors will have the chance to meet companies and researchers who are developing the next generation of defence technologies.

Choose your field of interest
Participants must select only one field of interest within one of the following three areas:

1. Future weapon and combat technologies
2. Military medical operations
3. Detection and counter detection

1: Future weapon and combat technologies
Challenge description:

This station evaluates technologies under movement, shooting, and communication stressors. The objective is to demonstrate measurable improvements in a soldier’s combat effectiveness. Examples could include enhancing situational awareness during movement, increasing mobility and load‑bearing capacity, or accelerating decision‑making under stress. These are only illustrative. We welcome all technologies that can demonstrate a clear, measurable improvement in overall combat effectiveness.

We are interested in such technologies as:

• Exoskeletons
• Sensor fusion
• XR/AR sights
• Communications platforms
• Portable power solutions

2: Military Medical Operations
Challenge description:

This station focuses on innovative medical technologies that can increase survivability and maintain soldiers’ health in situations where evacuation or resupply is limited.

Key challenges are evacuating casualties under persistent drone threat using:

• Low‑signature or autonomous extraction methods.
• Stabilizing wounded personnel for extended periods when evacuation is delayed,
• Maintaining medical readiness during prolonged frontline deployments with limited resupply.

We are interested in systems for:

• Bleeding control
• Telemedicine
• Portable diagnostics
• Autonomous evacuation concepts
• Other field‑ready medical technologies for realistic, time‑critical scenarios

3: Detection and Counter‑Detection
Challenge description:

This station addresses signature management and neutralization in a sensor‑dense battlespace.

The challenge is twofold:

1. Reduce soldier and platform signatures across optical, thermal, acoustic and electromagnetic domains to enable undetected movement
2. Provide cost‑effective means to detect and neutralize UAV/UGV threats without relying solely on scarce, high‑cost systems

Candidate solutions could include:

• Multispectral camouflage
• Thermal and acoustic suppression
• Low‑cost counter‑UAS options
• Electronic disruption
• Early‑warning sensors

Participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate the range, precision, , usability under stress, and integration with command systems.

Facility and logistics
Participation in Innovation Day is free of charge. Water, coffee, tea, and lunch will be provided for all attendees throughout the day.
Demonstrators will have the opportunity to showcase their solutions under field conditions. Demonstrators must bring all necessary equipment, including tents, power supply, and any additional materials needed for the demonstration.

The Armed Forces will not provide additional logistical support for field demonstrations.

Organisers
Innovation Day 2026: Future Combat Solutions is a collaborative effort between:

Danish Defence Command, CenSec, National Defence Technology Center (NFC), Danish Defence Innovation Unit and The Danish Defence Industrial Office at DALO.

Disclaimer

Participant Selection
The organizers of Innovation Day 2026 reserve the exclusive right to review, assess, and select participants at their sole discretion.

Selection will be based on an evaluation of the technologies, capabilities, and solutions that the organizers deem most relevant, appropriate, or beneficial to the objectives of the event. Submission of a registration shall not be construed as a guarantee of acceptance, nor does it create any entitlement to participation. All applicants will receive written notification of the selection outcome no later than August 3rd 2026.

Liability and Responsibility for Equipment
By participating in Innovation Day 2026, each company acknowledges and agrees that the Danish Defence and its personnel disclaim all liability for any damage, loss, degradation, malfunction, or destruction of equipment, prototypes, systems, or other materials that companies provide for use during event-related challenges or demonstrations.

All such of equipment, prototypes, systems, or other materials are supplied entirely at the company’s own risk, and the organizers shall bear no responsibility—contractual, tortious, or otherwise—for incidents arising from handling, testing, operation, or demonstration of said materials.

Drone Operation and Authorized Personnel
In circumstances involving the operation of drones or comparable systems requiring specialized training or certification, the organizers may determine that participating companies must operate their own equipment. This requirement may be imposed when the Danish Defence is unable to provide personnel who are duly trained, certified, or otherwise authorized to operate such systems safely and lawfully.

In these cases, the participating company retains full operational responsibility and liability for the drone systems during all demonstrations, tests, and challenge activities.