Core objective: Develop and test affordable, mass-producible drone-based munitions (loitering munitions and small UCAS) for ground combat, integrating lessons from the Ukrainian battlefield, and strengthening the European defence industry.
Target recipient type and size: The main applicants are typically ENTERPRISE-level defence companies, forming a consortium. The grant also explicitly targets SMEs and STARTUPs via Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP).
Designation: SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope: Organizations established in EU Member States, EDF Associated Countries, or Ukraine. The solutions developed are for the armed forces of EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.
Key filtering criteria: Focus on defence, specific munition types (loitering munitions, small UCAS), and consortium requirement.
Grant frequency and program context: Part of the annual European Defence Fund (EDF) 2025 Work Programme, aiming to enhance the European Defence Industrial and Technological Base (EDTIB) and address current security needs.
Financial Structure
Total budget for this topic: 49,000,000 EUR.
Funding mechanism: EDF Action Grant Budget-Based.
Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is an integral part of the grant.
Each FSTP recipient can receive up to EUR 60,000 for a maximum 6-month period.
The consortium must select a minimum of 3 and up to 10 FSTP entities.
Eligible activities for funding are: studies, design, prototyping, testing, qualification, certification, and development of technologies or assets increasing efficiency.
Activities primarily aiming to create, underpin and improve knowledge (generating knowledge) are not eligible for direct funding under this topic.
Co-financing declaration is required, implying co-financing is expected. The specific funding rate needs to be checked in the full call document.
Financial reporting and audit requirements are part of the grant agreement.
Eligibility Requirements
Organizational Eligibility
Legal entities established in EU Member States, EDF Associated Countries, or Ukraine are eligible.
Applicants must form a consortium.
Must demonstrate financial and operational capacity as described in section 7 of the call document.
Must not be subject to exclusion criteria.
The consortium is required to include Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) for SMEs and start-ups.
Project Eligibility
Proposals must focus on loitering munitions and small Unmanned Combat Aerial Systems (UCAS) for tactical and/or operational level effects.
Projects must include mandatory activities: Studies, Design, Prototyping, and Testing.
Technology developed should aim to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7.
Proposals must address specific range requirements (5-10km, 10-50km, 50-200km) for loitering munitions or small UCAS.
Solutions must include: affordable autonomous flight control, target acquisition, engagement capability (with meaningful human control), and operate in contested electronic warfare environments.
Proposals must not address fully autonomous weapon systems.
Application Process
Application Timeline
Submission session available from: 2025-02-18.
Application deadline: 2025-10-16 at 00:00:00 UTC.
Single-stage submission procedure.
Required Documentation
Standard application form (EDF) available in the Submission System.
Detailed budget table (EDF DA).
Participant information (EDF).
List of infrastructure, facilities, assets, and resources (EDF).
Cofinancing declaration (EDF DA, DA LS AND ASAP).
Actual indirect cost methodology declaration (EDF).
Harmonised capability declaration (EDF DA AND DA LS).
Declaration on procurement intent and common specifications (EDF DA AND DA LS).
Ownership control declaration.
PRS declaration (EDF).
Application Process
Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form.
Submission is electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Review process and timeline are described in sections 8 and 4 of the call document.
Post-Award Requirements
Monitoring and evaluation requirements apply.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in section 10 of the call document.
Evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the call document.
Expected Impact
Improvement of engagement capabilities, extending range and precision of land-based precision strike.
Gaining technological superiority for deploying affordable loitering munitions and small UCAS.
Integration of Ukrainian war lessons learned into EU defence industry products.
Enhancement of EDTIB capabilities for mass production.
Reduction of non-EU dependencies in loitering munitions and small UCAS.
Increased opportunities for smaller actors (SMEs, start-ups) in the defence sector to adapt innovative technologies.
Technical Quality and Innovation
Focus on affordable technologies.
Ability to operate in heavily contested electronic warfare environments.
Possibility of assistance by machine learning/Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Technologies for collaborating/swarm capabilities.
Designs that are easily upgradeable (modularity, standards).
Study and design of payloads with smart target seeking and fuze features.
FSTP Implementation Quality
Clarity on how FSTP is planned, including contributions from main beneficiaries and FSTP recipients.
Description of method for calculating FSTP amounts, payment arrangements, types of eligible activities for third parties, expected results, and consortium's management roles.
Compliance & Special Requirements
Regulatory Compliance
Compliance with EDF Regulation 2021/697 and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is mandatory.
Required permits and authorizations are implied by the nature of defence projects.
Legal entity validation and LEAR appointment are subject to specific rules.
Technical Standards and Limitations
Proposals must not address fully autonomous weapon systems; a meaningful human control is required.
Integration into current battle management systems using relevant standards is a consideration.
Special Considerations for FSTP
The consortium must provide technical mentoring, knowledge on defence domain business (IPR, export control), and networking opportunities for FSTP recipients.
FSTP is designed to increase opportunities for smaller players (SMEs, start-ups) not typically active in defence.
Proposals must clearly delineate contributions from main beneficiaries and FSTP recipients.
Security and IP
Compliance with EDF Programme Security Instruction (PSI).
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategies for FSTP recipients is a key area of support.
Project Management
Risk management expectations are implied by the comprehensive nature of defence development.
Proposals should address how the support to FSTP recipients contributes to CONOPS, tactics, analysis, war-gaming, and testing.
Grant Details
defence
defense
aerospace
munitions
drones
ucas
loitering munitions
unmanned aerial systems
military technology
ground combat
precision strike
swarm technology
ai
artificial intelligence
machine learning
electronic warfare
gnss denied environment
modularity
prototyping
testing
sme support
startup funding
cascade funding
european defence fund
edtib
eu funding
research and development
innovation
dual-use technology
security
geopolitics
supply chain resilience
manufacturing
industrial base
trl 7
Drone-based affordable mass munitions
47790029TOPICSen
European Defence Fund
ENTERPRISE
SME
STARTUP
OTHER
AT
BE
BG
HR
CY
CZ
DK
EE
FI
FR
DE
GR
HU
IE
IT
LV
LT
LU
MT
NL
PL
PT
RO
SK
SI
ES
SE
UA
Grants8