On 11 December 2025, the event "Startup Opportunities: Future Drone Defence" took place at brigk - Digitales Gründerzentrum Ingolstadt - as part of the "Startup Opportunities" workshop series. The format was jointly organised by the Technology Transfer Centre (TTZ) for Unmanned Aerial Systems at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences, brigkAIR and transform.10.

Around 80 representatives from start-ups, industry, research and politics came together to discuss current developments, challenges and innovation potential in the field of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and drone defence. The aim of the workshop series is to strengthen technology transfer between science, start-ups and established companies in a targeted manner and to facilitate new approaches to cooperation.

The event kicked off with expert input from politics, science and the security and defence industry. Specialist presentations by Starburst, MBDA, Quantum Systems and Rheinmetall used practical examples to demonstrate the growing importance of new technologies - especially unmanned systems - for a country's security.

In the second part of the event, the participants worked on a joint drone defence scenario in interactive workshop sessions. Requirements, technological solutions and new ideas were developed in three key areas:

• Reconnaissance: sensor technology, detection and classification of threats from UAS
• Battle management: data fusion, decision support and command processes
• Impact: defence mechanisms for software and hardware solutions.

The results illustrated the high potential for innovation at the interfaces between start-ups, research institutions and industry, particularly in the security-relevant environment.

The "Startup Opportunities" workshop series will be continued:

The next workshop will take place in May at brigk - Digitales Gründerzentrum Ingolstadt and will further deepen the interdisciplinary exchange on future-relevant technologies and applications. Further information on the main topics will be published shortly.

The TTZ Unmanned Aerial Systems at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences would like to thank all partners, speakers and participants for the constructive dialogue and successful collaboration in Region 10.