Riga Drone Coalition Summit 2026
- Anne-Lise Scaillierez
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Three energising days in Riga at the RTU Academic conference followed by the Riga Drone Coalition Summit 2026. Europe's defence innovation ecosystem is at an inflection point — and the academic conference at Riga Technical University as well as the discussions during the Riga Drone Summit itself made that impossible to ignore. Gathered with a diverse cohort of experts from across Europe and America, the conversation kept returning to one structural fault line: procurement systems and processes are strangling the startups and agile academic institutions that are actually driving innovation.
Yes, venture capital is partly taking over the role of funding defence innovation at a time when governments are financially constrained – but from my perspective, sustainable business growth for any business is based on customer traction, revenues, orders from customers.
Grateful to the organisers and fellow participants for an honest, rigorous three days.
Get in touch for detailed feedback from the technical conference and the Drone Summit by clicking here.
List of Speakers
Evika Siliņa Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Maj. Gen. Kaspars Pudāns National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia Commander
Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius Ministry of Defence of the Netherland
Carsten Breuer Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany Chief of Defence
Baiba Braže Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Viktors Valainis Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia
Olexandr Mischenko Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Donald Bacon U.S. House of Representatives Congressman
Sir John Stringer NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR)
Alistair Carns UK Ministry of Defence Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Tarja Jaakkola NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments
Heico Hübner German Army Vice Chief
Davyd Aloian National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Deputy Secretary
Tālis Juhna Riga Technical University Rector
Maj. Modris Kairiš s Autonomous Systems Competence Centre Head of Centre
Alans Andrulis State Centre for Defence Logistics and Procurement Head of the Centre
Vadym Yunyk Baltic Forces Hub Founder
Taras Berezovets Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Head of Mil Coop department
Got these nine. Keep going!
Tomasz Husak European Commission Director – Defence Policy
Claudio Palestini NATO Head, Innovation and Technology Adoption
Reinis Pozņaks European Parliament Member
Andris Sprūds Parliament of the Republic of Latvia Member of Parliament
Carl Larson Defense Tech for Ukraine Executive Director
Rostyslav Olenchyn Twist Robotics COO, Cofounder
Oleksandr Donchenko Air defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Former instructor
Artis Pabriks Military Technology, Drones and Robotics Association CEO
Elina Egle-Locmele Federation of Security and Defence Industries of Latvia Chairperson of the Board
Got these nine too. Any more?
Kristīne Bērziņa German Marshall Fund of the United States Senior Fellow, US Defense and Transatlantic Security
Viesturs Silenieks Drone Force – Europe Chairman of the Board
Uldis Zupa Cadet Force Centre of the Republic of Latvia Deputy Director of Education
Luca Gargiulo European Defence Agency (EDA) Project Officer Air Superiority
Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova Latvian Institute of International Affairs Director
Scott Boston RAND Corporation Senior Defense Analyst
Julius von Freytag-Loringhoven Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Baltic states office Head
Marta Kepe The RAND Corporation Senior Defense Analyst
Ieva Treija UniLab Defence Moderator
RTU Labs - Building Drones
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