More than €1 billion for the development of next generation defence technologies and innovation
The European Commission has adopted the fifth annual Work Programme under the European Defence Fund (EDF), allocating over €1 billion to defence collaborative research and development projects.
This 2025 EDF Work Programme will support projects in critical fields such as ground combat, space, air and naval combat, as well as energy resilience and environmental transition. In addition, R&D efforts in areas in the current and future operational context, such as cyber, naval combat, underwater warfare, simulation and training, advanced passive and active sensors will be funded. In addition, these funding opportunities address a wide range of enabling technologies related to autonomous triage and evacuation of injured personnel, multifunctional information distribution system, human-AI dialogue, chiplets for defence applications, soldier systems, and great-depth enabling technologies.
EDF25 launches 9 competitive calls for proposals for 31 topics including
- 15 for research actions,
- 15 for development actions
- 1 for the EDF National Focal Points network.
14 of the proposed call topics support the objectives of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) in the field of digital technologies and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies and biotechnologies. Projects meeting the eligibility requirements of this call will be awarded a STEP Seal. In addition, 2 specific grant agreements will further support the Alliance for defence medical countermeasures.
The calls for proposals are expected to be opened for submission from mid-February 2025, with a deadline for submission of 16 October 2025.
Please feel free to contact the EUFUNDINGHUB for further information on this and other funding-related topics.
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