EUROPEAN DEFENCE FUND – Development actions, dedicated to SMEs, implemented through lump sum grants – 2026

Objectives

• To encourage the driving role of innovative SMEs to turn technology and research results into defence products in a fast and cost-efficient way
• To adapt solutions originally developed for civil applications and previously not applied in defence sector

Among financed actions

• 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 defence product
• System prototyping of a defence produc
• Testing of a defence product
• Qualification of a defence product
• Certification of a defence product
• Development of technologies or assets increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products and technologies

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:
    • Listed EEA countries and countries associated to the EDF Programme (‘EDF associated countries’; list of participating countries)
• Be a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the meaning of EU Recommendation 2003/361
• 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.
• The partners (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be SMEs in the meaning of EU Recommendation 2003/361.
• The coordinator must be an SME.

Additional information

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

Useful

• Guidelines: Click here
• Other call documents: Click here
• DG website: Click here
• More information: Click here

• Total budget of the call: 30 million euros
• Amount of the grant: must not exceed 6 million euros

The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

• Funding rate: between 20% and 100% of the total eligible costs

This grant is a lump sum grant.