European defence startups have gained a formal, legally compliant route into Ukraine for battlefield testing and front-line user feedback. The programme, run by 17Tech.fi in partnership with Ukraine’s defence-innovation ecosystem, provides structured access to real combat environments—speeding up development and boosting NATO–Ukraine interoperability.
European defence startups have long faced challenges in accessing realistic operational environments where new technologies can be tested and validated with end users.
Selected companies will gain access to structured testing programs, front-line feedback loops, and opportunities to deploy prototypes in controlled operational scenarios in Ukraine as well as business support and access to several defence forces.
Through structured collaboration with Ukrainian defence innovation bodies, including Defence Builder, 17Tech.fi provides a framework for controlled field testing, pilot deployments, and systematic front-line feedback. The approach significantly shortens development time, improves product relevance, and supports the alignment of European capabilities with urgent Ukrainian operational needs.
17Tech’s team brings extensive experience from the defence industry, knowledge, and startup innovations and accelerations globally. The team has designed and operated accelerators in Europe and Asia, financed hundreds of early-stage companies, and supported defence forces in multiple countries in building new innovation models and technology evaluation frameworks.
Sami Luukkonen, Founding Partner at 17Tech, emphasises the importance of structured access:
“For years, European innovators have lacked a safe, legal, and operationally relevant environment to validate defence technologies.
Ukraine offers a uniquely demanding testbed, and our role is to create a professional, transparent, and responsible pathway for companies to work with official defence counterparts. This is not about speed alone – it is about ensuring that the right technologies reach the right users with real data behind them.”
Antti Kosunen, co-founder of 17Tech, has seen hundreds of startups succeed or fail depending on how quickly they gain access to real users and real operational environments over the past decade. Nowhere is this more critical than in defence technology.:
"Our role is to ensure that companies enter this environment with the right preparation, the right partners, and a clear framework that benefits both innovators and front-line users.
This accelerator is, in my view, the most effective way for defence startups to find real product–market fit. In defence, true demand is defined by the battlefield — not by presentations, prototypes, or theoretical use cases.
When companies receive direct feedback from units operating under real combat conditions, they quickly learn what works, what fails, and what must be improved.
That level of validation shortens development cycles by months or even years and prevents teams from investing in the wrong features. Nothing brings a product to market readiness faster than exposure to actual operational needs.”
Defence startups in Europe and allied countries can now apply to join the 17Tech Defence Tech Accelerator until December 15th, 2025.
Lead image: Freepik.
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