European Defence Agency picks loitering‑munition finalists for Portugal trials

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has completed the first stage of its Sentinel Strike Challenge, selecting the five highest‑ranked applicants to demonstrate loitering‑munition systems in a field trial in Portugal. Dutch defence firm Destinus was named among the top five and will showcase its complete loitering‑munition system at the Santa Margarida Military Training Area from 28 September to 9 October 2026.

Greek defence companies also earned distinction: Spirit Aeronautical Systems (SAS TECH) secured a place in the top five, while ALTUS LSA entered the competition’s top ten. The second‑stage trials are part of the EDA’s Operational Experimentation Campaign 2026 and the Portuguese Army’s ARTEX 26 activities, where systems will be evaluated under realistic, degraded and contested conditions. The five finalists – Destinus, Spirit Aeronautical Systems, Helsing (Germany), C‑Astral (Slovenia) and UAVision (Portugal) – will compete for a total prize pool of €1.8 million.