> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.adriadefense.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 7 Estonian Defense Tech Startups and Scaleups to Watch in 2026 - URL: https://www.adriadefense.com/7-estonian-defense-tech-startups-and-scaleups-to-watch-in-2026/ - Published: 2026-09-28T08:00:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-28T08:00:41.000Z - Description: Estonian defense firms are advancing interceptors, drones, counter-UAS sensors, battlefield software and portable power. Seven companies to watch in 2026. - Author: AdriaDefense Desk - Tags: Estonia, Startups, Defense Tech, Drones, Counter-UAS, CEE, Baltic States, Defense Industry, Industry Estonian defense technology companies are developing products across air defense, unmanned systems, tactical communications, intelligence software and field power. This selection examines seven Estonia-based startups and scaleups with identifiable products and publicly documented activity through September 2026\. It is an editorial selection, presented without a performance ranking. The companies are at different stages. A live-fire test, an investment agreement, participation in a military program and a production contract each provide different evidence of progress. None, on its own, establishes that a system has entered widespread military service or achieved every performance claim made by its developer. Estonia’s 2026 Eurosatory delegation illustrated the breadth of its emerging defense industry, while NATO’s DIANA program has provided another route for Estonian firms to test and develop their products. ## Frankenburg Technologies: Guided interceptors for mass drone threats Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Tallinn, **Frankenburg Technologies** develops the Mark I short-range guided missile to counter unmanned aircraft. The company reported a successful intercept of a moving drone target during a December 2025 live-fire demonstration in Latvia. It raised €30 million in a 2026 Series A round and opened a missile assembly facility in Riga in June. The Riga opening marks a manufacturing step, but Frankenburg’s stated production targets remain targets. Its plans for additional sites and substantially higher output should not be presented as missiles already delivered. In July, the company announced agreements involving **BAE Systems** for a Mark I warhead and **Roxel UK** for propulsion work. [AdriaDefense previously covered Frankenburg’s funding round](https://www.adriadefense.com/estonian-missile-defence-startup-raises-eu30m-for-european-production-push/) ## KrattWorks: Reconnaissance drones and aerial targets **KrattWorks** builds the Ghost Dragon intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone and aerial targets used in air-defense training. Estonia’s defense investment agency has identified the company as a supplier of flying targets to the Estonian Defense Forces. KrattWorks says it signed a seven-year contract worth €15 million in 2022; that figure describes the contract’s stated value, not annual revenue or a new 2026 award. The company says Ghost Dragon systems have been deployed in Estonia, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Its current portfolio spans operational surveillance and training targets, giving it a broader product story than a single drone prototype. KrattWorks lists **AUSA 2026** among its upcoming events, making its international expansion particularly relevant to follow this autumn. ## Marduk Technologies: Passive optical counter-drone detection **Marduk Technologies** develops electro-optical systems that detect, classify and track drones without requiring the optical sensor itself to transmit. Its Shark and smaller Piraya products address the detection and targeting layer of counter-UAS operations; they are not standalone evidence that every integrated weapon or jammer has been fielded with them. Marduk reported a 2025 live-fire test of Piraya mounted on an Estonian **CV90 infantry fighting vehicle**. The company also reported participation in Sweden’s GUTE counter-UAS demonstration, where it says Shark supplied detection and targeting data within a wider sensor-and-effector setup. These are specific test and integration milestones, rather than proof of a Swedish procurement award. ## Vegvisir: Situational awareness for crewed and uncrewed vehicles Founded by Estonian and Croatian defense professionals, **Vegvisir** began with a mixed-reality system intended to improve what armored-vehicle crews can see around them. Its product range now extends to interfaces for uncrewed platforms and a virtual command station. In June 2026, the company announced a communications module and plans to extend its platform beyond land systems. Vegvisir announced an investment from **Iron Wolf Capital** in June. On September 9, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Polish optoelectronics company **PCO** concerning *potential* integration of their technologies. The agreement is a development opportunity, not a completed integration or equipment order. ## Wayren: Communications when networks degrade **Wayren** develops Singularity, a communications platform designed to synchronize data across available networks when connectivity is limited or disrupted. Its portfolio includes tactical applications and a command kit that combines its software with third-party devices and radios. NATO DIANA selected Wayren for the second phase of its 2025 accelerator program. In 2025, Wayren signed a **€7.9 million strategic investment agreement** with EFA Group to support development of battlefield communications systems. The publicly described agreement should not be converted into a claim that €7.9 million was paid to Wayren immediately. Estonia’s trade agency also reported a pilot delivery to the Estonian Defense League and testing involving Estonian and Ukrainian forces. ## SensusQ: Intelligence data fusion Founded in 2020, **SensusQ** develops software for collecting, organizing and analyzing information from multiple sources. The company says it contributed data-fusion expertise to the British Army’s **Project ASGARD** and describes its Winning Mind platform as an intelligence-management tool. Its ASGARD role is reported by SensusQ; the available source does not establish a separately awarded procurement contract. SensusQ also joined a 2025 memorandum of understanding with **Hanwha Aerospace** and **Nortal** to explore a battlefield-management system. That provides a relevant industrial connection, while the resulting system remains a development proposal in the cited announcement. SensusQ adds an intelligence-software category to an Estonian sector often discussed primarily through drones. ## PowerUP Energy Technologies: Portable hydrogen power **PowerUP Energy Technologies**, founded in 2016, develops hydrogen fuel-cell generators for civilian and defense applications. Its products address an operational requirement that receives less attention than drones: providing electricity for communications, surveillance and other equipment away from dependable power infrastructure. Estonia’s trade agency says the Estonian Defense Forces and a NATO energy-security center have tested the company’s technology. PowerUP closed a **€10 million Series A** round in November 2025 to expand manufacturing and commercial operations. The company says its systems have also been deployed and evaluated in Ukraine; the public material reviewed for this article does not establish the scale of that deployment. Hydrogen supply and transport remain practical considerations when assessing its military use. ## Questions about Estonia’s defense startups ### Are these seven companies ranked by size or military performance? No. The list brings together firms with documented products and activity across different defense categories. Their contracts, tests, partnerships and funding rounds cannot be treated as equivalent measures of military performance. ### Which companies have the clearest publicly documented customer or program links? KrattWorks has a documented Estonian aerial-target supply relationship. Wayren has publicly described Estonian and Ukrainian testing and a Defense League pilot. Frankenburg has reported a live-fire intercept and opened an assembly facility. Other entries include documented exercises, investment, program participation or cooperation agreements, with the limits of each stated above. ### Why include companies founded before 2020? The title includes **scaleups** because founding date alone does not describe a company’s stage. Marduk, KrattWorks and PowerUP have moved beyond an initial concept while continuing to expand defense products or markets.