An Italian soldier reviews computer code during the first United States Army Europe and Africa hackathon, June 17, 2026, in Wiesbaden, Germany. The event tested a new computer network that aims to streamline information sharing across NATO. (Kevin Dunnaway/U.S. Army)
WIESBADEN, Germany — U.S. Army and NATO allies say they achieved a major milestone in communication and information sharing as part of reinforcing deterrence on the eastern flank.
U.S. and European service members worked alongside industry partners at Clay Kaserne from June 15-18 for a first-time event dubbed the “hackathon.”
They tested a new information network that will serve as the backbone for combined military operations in the theater.
During the hackathon, the militaries of Finland, Lithuania and Italy, among others, accessed the network, marking the first use of the data system across the coalition.
Over the past six months, a U.S. Army Europe and Africa team of computer engineers and data scientists developed a data ecosystem to streamline information sharing in real time across NATO for the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative.
The concept uses innovative technologies and artificial intelligence to prevent adversaries from operating freely in contested areas and counter Russian advantages in troop numbers and battlefield speed.
“I’ve been incredibly impressed with our multinational partners,” said Capt. Bennett Hellman, a USAREUR-AF machine learning engineer. “Within one week alone, we’ve ingested Lithuanian radar data and sent it to Finnish (platforms) that platoon leaders on the ground would be using.”
A Finnish soldier talks to U.S. partners during the first United States Army Europe and Africa hackathon June 17, 2026, in Wiesbaden, Germany. Computer engineers from multiple NATO countries came together to test a new data sharing network for military operations in Europe. (Kevin Dunnaway/U.S. Army)
Participants likened current data sharing procedures to a telephone switchboard that requires hundreds or thousands of individual connections for each system in the network to communicate.
The new framework operates more like a radio channel that provides one connection point for users to “dial in” to begin sharing and receiving real-time data across the alliance, Hellman said.
The hackathon kicked off as Army Secretary Dan Driscoll signed an agreement in Paris to expand the counter-drone marketplace to U.S. allies in Europe. He emphasized the need for the U.S. and its allies to have systems that can talk to each other.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll leads a signing ceremony with NATO allies and partners for a counter-unmanned aircraft systems letter of intent during day two of Eurosatory 2026 at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, June 16, 2026. (Alexander Watkins/U.S. Army)
The new Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative’s data backbone directly supports this initiative, allowing USAREUR-AF to bridge the gap between industry and NATO partners and eliminate the need for country-specific software.
“We make a common open-source architecture that anybody can plug into, so if they can plug into the data backbone once, it unlocks the entire European theater’s marketplace,” Hellman said.
He added that the program’s continued success will rely on participation across NATO.
“The more we can share in common, the better we work at scale and at speed,” Hellman said. “If we truly want to be in the modern ... AI battle space, we need all of the alliance data right when it’s happening.”
Six other nations had joined the U.S. on the network as of Friday.
“This is going to be a persistent network that exists for both testing and exercises,” Hellman said. “It’s live, it’s living and it’s not going to die.”
