Estonia takes 15 defence-tech firms to Eurosatory, Bolt’s robotaxis hit the road in Luxembourg, and RIA logs a record 1,561 impactful cyber incidents in May.
Welcome to the June edition of Kood Letter!
News
Estonia Brings 15 Defence-Tech Firms to Eurosatory 2026
Estonia sent a 15-strong contingent to Eurosatory 2026 in Paris (15–19 June), under a joint national stand organised by Trade with Estonia.
The line-up is a snapshot of how the country has pivoted a large chunk of its engineering talent into defence and dual-use technology, much of it shaped by lessons coming out of Ukraine.
Counter-drone and sensing
- DefSecIntel Solutions – EIRSHIELD mobile ultra-short-range counter-UAS with radar, RF and EO sensors.
- Marduk Technologies – passive optical drone detection that doesn’t reveal the operator’s position.
- KrattWorks – AI-enabled ISR drones; Ghost Dragon in Ukrainian service since 2022.
- Defendec – autonomous perimeter sensors with 400-day battery and AI alarm verification.
Drones, optics and effectors
- Threod Systems – unmanned aircraft and deep-strike drone launchers; customers in ~30 countries.
- HEVI Optronics – electro-optical ISR specialist supplying Europe’s drone supply chain.
- Frankenburg Technologies – led by Kusti Salm; building affordable, mass-manufacturable missile interceptors.
The rest of the delegation spans AI-powered military computing and dual-use platforms. Enterprise Estonia’s pitch: firms that can ship combat-relevant kit faster than the larger primes.
Skeleton Announces Three European Defence Partnerships at Eurosatory
Estonian energy-storage company Skeleton Technologies used Eurosatory to announce three new partnerships: with Spain’s GDELS Santa Barbara Sistemas, Portugal’s Tekever, and France’s KNDS.
The deals plug Skeleton’s high-power supercapacitor systems into counter-drone interceptors, autonomous platforms and armoured vehicles, applications where conventional batteries are too slow or too heavy.
Tekever has also recently opened its first office in Tallinn. Skeleton CEO Taavi Madiberk called counter-UAS “one of the most urgent operational requirements for NATO’s eastern flank.”
Bolt Launches Self-Driving Pilot in Luxembourg with Stellantis and Pony.ai
Bolt has kicked off its first autonomous mobility pilot, partnering with Chinese AV specialist Pony.ai and global automaker Stellantis to put driverless vehicles on Luxembourg’s streets.
Stellantis is contributing a mid-sized van platform, Pony.ai brings the autonomous stack, and Bolt provides the ride-hailing layer. Test vehicles will be on the road in 2026, with larger pilot fleets to follow.
CEO Markus Villig has set a target of around 100,000 autonomous vehicles on the platform by 2035, with industrial scaling planned from 2029.
Estonia Presents Unmanned Vehicles Roadmap 2026–2030
On 12 June, Prime Minister Kristen Michal presented the Unmanned Vehicles Roadmap 2026–2030, a strategic plan led by the Government Office. The goal: make Estonia Europe’s best and safest environment for developing and using unmanned systems across air, land, sea and underwater.
The roadmap pulls together regulatory, R&D and infrastructure measures across multiple ministries, aligning Estonia’s defence-tech rise with civilian dual-use opportunities in logistics, agriculture, and inspection.
Defence Business Lab Picks Its 10-Startup Second Cohort
The defence-tech pre-accelerator run jointly by Tehnopol and Sparkup Tartu Science Park announced the ten startups selected for its second year, split five-and-five between Tallinn and Tartu. The cohort:
- MindChip – AI-based autonomous ship captain.
- Skypiercer – affordable last-layer C-UAS close protection.
- Sonic Dynamics – fast unmanned aerial vehicles.
- Towerhouse – simulation and training for aviation and defence.
- Cata Strato – modular counter-drone neutralisation.
- Arx – high-altitude drone platform to counter Shahed-type drones.
- Kappazeta – AI-driven remote sensing.
- Anti-troll – LLM agents supporting StratCom units against disinformation.
- Stickelback Robotics – semi-submersible maritime ISR drone platform.
Selected companies receive mentoring, real-environment testing access, and preparation for NATO DIANA and EDF rounds.
MarkeDroid and STACC Launch Smart Microgrid Project
Estonian VPP startup MarkeDroid has teamed with Tartu-based data-science firm STACC on a microgrid project aimed at unlocking the most congested parts of the distribution grid for renewables.
The plan: build a digital twin of the grid, forecast available capacity in near-real-time, and let Distribution System Operators (such as Elektrilevi) offer flexible grid packages. Prosumers could then sell solar back even during market time units that today are blocked by static models.
The project is funded through EIS’s competitive Applied Research Programme (RUP).
Datel Opens Drone-Pilot Decision App for Testing
Estonian IT company Datel has opened a public test of a new web app that tells drone pilots whether, and under what conditions, they’re allowed to fly at a given location.
Unlike drone-manufacturer apps focused on flight control, this one focuses on the pre-flight legal decision, pulling together airspace, geofencing and event-related restrictions that are otherwise fragmented across sources. Feedback is being collected from active drone operators during the test phase.
Autobahn.tech Expands to Czech and Slovak Markets
Estonian-founded automotive software company Autobahn Technologies is deepening its Central European footprint, entering the Czech and Slovak markets.
Together the two countries registered nearly 350,000 new passenger cars in 2025 and produced over 2.5 million vehicles locally. The regional push is led by Ladislav Stourac, a 30-year automotive veteran previously at JATO Dynamics.
Autobahn is 14 years old, headquartered in Tallinn under CEO Stig Terje Henriksen, and runs an end-to-end Vehicle Sales Platform (VSP) for OEMs, importers and dealers. It covers offers, orders, deliveries, handover and after-sales.
The platform is now used by nearly 400 dealerships and has supported over 120,000 transactions worth more than €2 billion. Customers include Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Jeep, Honda, BAIC and Hongqi.
Most Valuable Tech of the Next Decade Will Come from Science and Engineering
May’s DeepTech Drinks & Showcase in Tartu pulled together researchers from the University of Tartu, TalTech and the Estonian University of Life Sciences with deep-tech investors from Superangel, Nordic Science Investments and others.
The VC takeaway: Estonian science is internationally competitive, basic-research funding has scaled, and applied-research funding is now growing in both volume and project count.
As Superangel’s Veljo Otsason put it: “many of the most valuable technologies of the next decade will be born within universities, from science and engineering.”
Cyber
RIA Records 1,561 Impactful Cyber Incidents in May — An All-Time Estonian Record
Estonia’s Information System Authority (RIA) logged 1,561 impactful cybersecurity incidents in May, the highest monthly figure ever recorded in Estonian cyberspace.
Causes ranged from technical faults and human error to outages in third-party partner systems, with disruptions hitting several critical public services. The number reinforces the trend from April (1,138 incidents).
RIA’s broader message: phishing and social-engineering pressure is rising fast, while service availability remains under constant strain from both routine outages and active attack campaigns.
Tallinn Hosts 7th Cyber Diplomacy Summer School, 60 Diplomats from 121 Applicant Countries
The e-Governance Academy hosted the 7th Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School in June, with around 60 diplomats and cyber experts selected from a record applicant pool drawn from 121 countries.
Opened by Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, the five-day programme covered cyber threats, AI governance, international law, cyber norms, confidence-building measures and public-private partnerships.
Tsahkna’s framing: “cybersecurity, AI, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies are no longer technical topics, they are fundamentally diplomatic questions.”
RIA’s €13M Security-Testing Tender Sparks a Public Industry Row
Five Estonian state IT houses, led by RIA, jointly awarded a multi-year security-testing framework worth nearly €13 million, a very large slice of the local pen-testing market.
KPMG immediately criticised the procurement model, arguing it could push significant work to a single supplier at above-market prices, with a 70%-weight trial task overshadowing price as a selection criterion.
RIA pushed back, saying conditions were lawful, objective and non-discriminatory, that no bidder challenged them, and that competition was assured.
One of the winners, Clarified Security’s Mehis Hakkaja, defended the trial-task format, saying it reflects real testing skill and is far from the strictest the market has seen.
Upcoming Events
Vibe_Sprint 2026
Date: September 18–19, 2026
Location: Mektory, Tallinn
TalTech Startup Centre’s flagship hackathon: 24 hours of building for devs, designers and wildcards, with a heavy “vibe coding” twist. AI-assisted prototyping is encouraged.
More information: vibesprint.startupgarage.ee
City Resilience Hack
Date: September 24–25, 2026
Location: Energy Discovery Center, Põhja pst 29, Tallinn
Application deadline: September 10, 2026
A €75,000 prize fund hackathon by the City of Tallinn and Tehnopol, with partner cities Valencia, Helsinki, Dnipro and Lviv. Challenges span smart city platforms, resilient critical systems, crisis communication, and integrated health and social resilience – plus access to test environments and pilot projects with the partner cities.
Apply: tehnopol.ee/en/project/city-resilience-hack
Garage48 Future of Wood 2026
Date: October 16–18, 2026
Location: EWERS Tehnomaja / TSENTER, Väimela, Võrumaa
A three-day makeathon for students, designers, engineers, and wood industry professionals to prototype sustainable solutions for forestry, wood processing, and the circular economy. Food is included; bring your own sleeping bag for accommodation.
More information: Garage48 Future of Wood 2026
Job Offers
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See you next month!