Defence Builder and Tech-Park Kaunas, one of Lithuania's oldest science and technology parks, have signed a memorandum of cooperation on joint work with Ukrainian and Lithuanian defence technology teams. The memorandum was signed in Kaunas during the official opening of Flaming Shield '26: Defend the Sky, the defence technology hackathon of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union.
The memorandum was signed by Daria Yaniieva, President of Defence Builder, and Paulius Nezabitauskas, CEO of Tech-Park Kaunas. It sets out four areas of cooperation:
• knowledge sharing on markets, military requirements and certification;
• deeper joint work with teams through mentoring, cross-referrals to acceleration programmes and introductions to investors;
• integration opportunities between Ukrainian and Lithuanian products and joint work on technology strategies for protecting airspace and critical infrastructure;
• joint hackathons, demo days and business missions.
"Lithuania spends more than 5% of its GDP on defence and has agreed with Ukraine on joint drone production, which makes it one of the most concrete markets in Europe for Ukrainian teams. To work there, teams need a partner who knows local procedures, institutions and customers. Together with Tech-Park Kaunas, we will work with teams on both sides more closely, share what we know about the Ukrainian and Lithuanian markets, and help companies find integrations and partners in each other's countries," said Daria Yaniieva, President of Defence Builder.
Lithuania was the first NATO member to sign a Drone Deal with Ukraine. The agreement provides for joint production of Ukrainian drones on Lithuanian soil, and industrial cooperation is to be funded from Lithuanian national resources and through the EU's SAFE instrument. Companies that want to build products in Lithuania need local partners for integration and certification against Lithuanian and NATO requirements. Tech-Park Kaunas initiated and coordinates Vytis, a future centre for developing, testing and certifying defence and dual-use products. For the 30+ teams in the Defence Builder portfolio, the memorandum provides a partner in Lithuania with knowledge of local procedures, institutions and customers.
Flaming Shield is a 72-hour hackathon organised by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union and Tech-Park Kaunas. This year's edition focused on airspace security, including detecting and countering drones, operating under electronic warfare and protecting systems from cyber threats. The hackathon's alumni have raised more than EUR 7 million in investment.
About Tech-Park Kaunas
Tech-Park Kaunas is one of Lithuania's oldest science and technology parks and supports start-ups and technology companies through incubation, acceleration and business development services. Defence and dual-use technologies are among its focus areas. Last year, 94 companies in its community generated EUR 116.4 million in turnover.
About Defence Builder
Defence Builder is a Ukrainian defence tech ecosystem co-founded by Sigma Software Group, Kyiv School of Economics and Buntar Aerospace. It works through DB Accelerator, DB Fund and DB Capabilities, and its portfolio includes more than 30 teams.
