Regional Defence and Security Summit

The Regional Defence and Security Summit brings together the key stakeholders that are building European security capacity in the Eastern Flank to advance concrete outcomes: joint procurement initiatives, investment partnerships, innovation pathways, and a shared policy agenda that reflects the region’s strategic roles.

📅 Date: October 21, 2026
📍 Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
🏢 Venue: Sofia Event Center

Check the agenda!

Europe is entering its largest defence spending expansion in decades. In 2025, the 27 EU member states spent €418 billion on defence, a 20% year-on-year increase. According to the European Defence Agency (EDA), spending is projected to reach €454 billion in 2026, while purchases of new equipment alone amounted to €115 billion last year.

Against this backdrop, the Regional Defence and Security Summit 2026 returns to Sofia. On October 21, at Sofia Event Center, Capital, in partnership with the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation, will bring together representatives of European institutions and NATO, major defence manufacturers, investors, technology companies, and experts with firsthand experience of the war in Ukraine.

Defence investment and scaling

With European capital increasingly flowing into defence, the summit will explore how startups can move beyond developing prototypes to scaling production, securing certification, and winning major contracts.

The European Investment Fund (EIF), which committed €376 million to security and defence investments in 2025, will be among the participants. Its new Defence Equity Facility 2.0 targets an initial €1 billion in investments through 25–30 funds. Alongside venture capital investors and entrepreneurs, the EIF will discuss funding opportunities and the challenges of building competitive European defence companies.

Lessons from Ukraine's battlefield

The war in Ukraine has accelerated defence innovation, shortening development cycles from years to weeks. A dedicated part of the program will examine how battlefield experience shapes technology development and how quickly solutions must adapt to new threats.

Speakers include Bohdan Danyliv from the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, Oles Khudoba, co-founder of Double Tap, and Olga Golovina from HALO Trust Ukraine.

The summit will also feature a full-day drone assembly workshop led by DroneAid Ukraine, a startup pitching competition, and sessions on European funding and the journey from prototype to procurement.

Space technology and European security

Satellite data, Earth observation, and resilient communications are becoming increasingly important to Europe's defence capabilities.

Two prominent European space tech companies, EnduroSat and ICEYE, will join the discussions.

Bulgarian EnduroSat recently raised $205 million and announced plans to transform the former Dobroslavtsi military airfield into a space and defence development and manufacturing hub.

ICEYE, meanwhile, was highlighted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2026 State of the Union address as an example of a European-funded startup that has achieved global scale.

Their participation will connect the discussion on space technologies with broader questions around critical infrastructure, data, cybersecurity, and Europe's technological independence.