contact@welcomeurope.com
+33(0)1 42 54 60 64
Login
Logo Welcomeurope

EUROPEAN DEFENCE FUND – Research actions implemented via actual cost grants – 2026

EDF – The European Defence Fund aims at promoting cooperation among companies and research actors of all sizes and geographic origin in the Union, in research and development of state-of-the-art and interoperable defence technology and equipment.

2026-09-29
110 million euros
Open

Call synthesis

Call reference EDF-2026-RA
Programme EUROPEAN DEFENCE FUND
Institution European Commission
Sectors Civil Protection & Risks Health Justice, Security, Defence Research & Innovation Technology & Digital
Beneficiaries Association & NGO Large company (> 250 employees) Research centre & university Smes & Start-Ups (< 249 Employees) State administration & affiliated entities

Content reserved for subscribers

Call reference

EDF-2026-RA



Register for free to access the content

Free access to all information

Priorities and funded actions

Objectives

  • To improve efficiency, safety, and process checks, and reduce the manual workload via robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) in military decontamination processes (MDPs)
  • To continue research to demonstrate an innovative radar system capable of detecting and tracking HGVs and UAVs
  • To have a quantum-secured tactical network for military purposes
  • To explore the development of sensor systems, analyse the progress of relevant technologies and identify possible challenges
  • To develop and validate advanced models for predicting flow related underwater noise, including the generation of high quality verification data

Among financed actions

  • Activities that aim to create, underpin and improve knowledge which can achieve significant effects in the area of defence
  • Activities that aim to increase interoperability and resilience to strengthen the security of supply or to enable the effective exploitation of results for defence products and technologies
  • Studies
  • Design of a defence product

Eligibility

  • Be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • Be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • Non-EU countries :
  • Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register before submitting the proposal.
  • A consortium composed of minimum 3 independent applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries must be constituted.

Additional information

  • Contact: DEFIS-EDF-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu

Useful

Financement
  • Total budget of the call: 110 million euros
  • Budget per topic:
    • EDF-2026-RAMCBRN-DST: 15 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RA-SENSMSDT: 20 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RA-CYBERQSTN: 14 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RA-AIRA4R: 20 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RAPROTMOB-FMLA: 15 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RA-UWWFUWN: 10 million euros
    • EDF-2026-RASIMTRAIN-MSAI: 16 million euros
  • Amount of the grant:
    • EDF-2026-RA-SIMTRAIN-MSAI: must not exceed 8 million euros
    • For all other topics: must not exceed the budget available for the topic

The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

  • Funding rate: 100% of the total eligible costs