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

Objectives

• To develop next-generation EW systems that can effectively counter emerging threats and support EU interests in the maritime domain without third country dependencies
• To follow up and complement previous activities in the field of high-performance energy systems (production, storage, management and distribution)
• To harness and advance existing technology to a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to address urgent and near future needs to restore civilian areas and training areas
• To increase the survivability of fixed-wing and rotary-wing, combat or non-combat aircraft in hostile environments of the next generation self-protection systems (SPS)
• To exploit the knowledge and solutions developed for civilian and military purposes in the application of such technologies

Among financed actions

• Studies
• Design of a defence product, tangible or intangible component
• Activities that aim to increase interoperability and resilience, including secured production and exchange of data

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)
• 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

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

• Total budget of the call: 422 million euros
• Budget per topic:
  • EDF-2026-DA-SENSCEW: 24 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DA-SPACEPRS: 50 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAENERENV-HPES: 20 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAENERENV-AWC: 10 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAMATCOMP-SMT: 20 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DA-AIR-SPS: 24 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DA-AIRSTFS: 25 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAGROUND-MRL: 25 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAGROUND-MBT: 125 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DAPROTMOB-DMM: 9 million euros
  • EDF-2026-DA-NAVALEMSAS: 90 million euros
• Amount of the grant: One proposal is to be funded for each topic and the grant amount must not exceed the budget available for each one.
• Funding rate: between 20% and 100% of the total eligible costs