What is the Battlefield of Things Hackathon 3?
The Battlefield of Things 3: Trench Electromagnetic Warfare (Trench EW) Hackathon is a two-and-a-half-day innovation event designed to bring Belgium Defence personnel together with industry experts, enthusiasts, students and researchers.
Together, participants will develop new and creative concepts to strengthen Belgium’s frontline EW capabilities, grounded in real operational needs identified by BELDEF units.
Whether you are an experienced EW specialist or simply interested in contributing to future capability development, this event offers a unique opportunity to engage in hands-on development, tackle real-world challenges, and help reinforce Belgian Defence’s EW posture.
Shaping the challenges
The challenges for Battlefield of Things 3: TEW will be defined over the next few months through a series of workshops with Belgian Defence staff and key actors in the TEW ecosystem. They will be focused on three key subjects:
→ Electromagnetic Support: Spectrum Awareness
How can small teams gain rapid insight into the electromagnetic environment — detecting hostile drones, jammers, and transmissions within 0–10 km?
→ Electromagnetic Protection: Protecting Forces
How can we improve survivability by countering FPV drones, safeguarding communications, and enabling operations under jamming or GPS denial?
→ Electromagnetic Attack: Disrupting the Adversary
Where can lightweight, low-cost EW tools give BELDEF a tactical edge, degrading enemy drones, sensors or communications?
Think you can contribute to the workshops? If you have expertise or ideas that could help shape these challenges, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with us.
Who can take part in the BoTH3?
Battlefield of Things 3: TEW is open to anyone interested in strengthening Belgium’s TEW capabilities. We welcome BELDEF personnel, industry experts, cybersecurity specialists, students, and hands-on technology enthusiasts to work and innovate together.
This includes Belgian Defence personnel ensuring solutions address real operational needs; industry partners and EW technology companies active in RF, SDR, sensing, cyber security, and electronic systems; cyber and software specialists working on spectrum awareness and secure communications; engineering and technology students from universities and colleges; and radio amateurs, makers, and spectrum enthusiasts bringing practical experience and creative problem-solving.
Not sure if BoTH3 is for you? Just reach out – we’d be happy to discuss.
Want to bring a team of friends or colleagues? Fantastic! Just make sure everyone registers individually, and be ready to connect with new teammates along the way.
Battlefield of Things experience
The first two editions of the event was an absolute blast! Here is the short video from BoTH2 to give you a feel of it:
What to expect this year
The event will follow the same formula: a hugely diverse group of smart, dedicated participants, a brilliant setting, and an agenda packed with hands-on sessions and meaningful challenges, set within a real operational military environment.
Angenda Preview:
Friday, May 22 | Evening: workshops, dinner, getting to know everyone
Saturday, May 23 | Full day : challenge briefings, ideation, expert interviews, and hacking time
Sunday, May 24| Full day: more hacking, more experts, pitch training, final pitches and reception.
Stay ahead — join the early list!