🗓️ May 5-12, 2026 📌 Riga, Latvia

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Click here to apply by March 15

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NATO Innovation Range Technical Demonstration for Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI) brings together NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) and NATO’s Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments in Latvia at CRYSTAL ARROW 2026 along with innovative startups and companies.

Our objective is to identify, test and demonstrate innovative solutions that can effectively integrate into NATO’s capability and operational frameworks to strengthen the Alliance’s decisive military advantage.

Technical Demonstration is part of the Task Force X – Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (TFX-EFDI) Pilot #4 series focusing on proving uncrewed systems interoperability and mission assurance in contested environments, all verified in the hands of warfighters.

Challenge areas

Participants will be tasked to present and demonstrate scalable operational solutions utilizing ground autonomy platforms, payloads, or systems that can detect, disrupt, and/or defeat enemy threats while enhancing force protection and minimizing soldier exposure. Proposed solutions should address at least one of the following focus areas:

• Ground Autonomy with:
  • Modular adaptation, mounting-unmounting weapon and anti-drone systems.
  • Electronic warfare resilience, interfacing and integration of systems like MESH networks that are less sensitive to interference. Control signal transmission up to 10km.
  • Tactical endurance, continuous operation up to 4 hours with a single battery charge. Ability to change batteries in the field.

Solutions should demonstrate interoperability with existing digital command environments and leverage technologies at least at TRL 6.

Technical Demonstration builds on the outcomes of previous EFDI demonstration pilots conducted under LANDCOM’s Task Force X initiative. These pilots identified the need for improved data enablement, secure AI integration and resilient connectivity to support unmanned systems in complex operational conditions. Now the focus is on Ground Autonomy with strong operational focus.

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Click here to apply by March 15

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