The European Commission adopted the first European Defence Fund (EDF) annual work programme, which sets out 23 calls for proposals for a total of €1.2 billion of EU funding.

The EDF aims to reduce fragmentation of the EU defence capabilities, enchance competitiveness of the EU defence industry and the interoperability of products and technologies.

In the first year, the EDF will allocate :

• around €700 million to the preparation of large-scale and complex defence platforms and systems
• around €100 million to critical technologies, which will enhance the performance and resilience of defence equipment
• more than €120 million disruptive technologies and specific open calls for SMEs.