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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Develop a European Space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability.
Achieve this by creating an affordable constellation of multi-sensor small satellites and associated ground segments.
Target recipient type: Legal entities, including SMEs and mid-caps, from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.
Target size: All sizes, with specific incentives for SMEs and mid-caps.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Defence and Space.
Geographic scope: EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on space-based ISR, collaborative defence projects, entities from eligible countries, and mandatory consortium participation.
Grant frequency and program context: This is an annual call under the European Defence Fund (EDF), part of the 2025 Work Programme for Development Actions.

Financial Structure

Total budget for this specific topic: 66,000,000 EUR.
Funding type: 'Actual cost grants'.
Currency: EUR.
Baseline funding rates (per type of activity, Article 10(3) EDF Regulation):
- Activities aiming to 'integrate knowledge' (b): 65%
- Studies (c): 90%
- Design (d): 65%
- System prototyping (e): 20%
- Testing (f): 45%
- Qualification (g): 70%
- Certification (h): 70%
- Development of technologies increasing efficiency (i): 65%
Maximum funding rates with bonuses (up to 100% for activities (b), (c), (d), (i); up to 55% for (e); up to 80% for (f), (g), (h)).
Bonuses available:
- PESCO bonus: +10% if the project is developed in the context of a Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project.
- SME bonus: Additional percentage points based on eligible costs allocated to SMEs (up to +5% for non-cross-border SMEs, up to +10% for cross-border SMEs).
- Mid-cap bonus: +10% if 15% or more of eligible costs are allocated to mid-caps.
Required declarations: 'Cofinancing declaration' and 'Actual indirect cost methodology declaration'.
Ineligible costs: The requested EU contribution must not cover the associated launch(s) and deployment costs for in-orbit demonstration (IOD) or the first batch of satellites; these must be financed by the owners of the prototype(s).

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Requirements

Multi-beneficiary applications are mandatory.
Applicants must be legal entities established in EU Member States or EDF Associated Countries.
For activities focused on prototyping, testing, qualification, or certification (Article 10(3), points (e) to (h)), projects must be supported by at least two Member States or EDF Associated Countries that express intent to procure the final product or use the technology.
For design activities (Article 10(3), point (d)), projects must be based on harmonised defence capability requirements jointly agreed by at least two Member States or EDF Associated Countries. If studies are still needed to define requirements, a joint intent to agree on them is sufficient.
For prototyping, testing, qualification, or certification activities (Article 10(3), points (e) to (h)), projects must be based on common technical specifications jointly agreed by the co-financing Member States/EDF Associated Countries or those intending joint procurement/use. If design is still needed, a joint intent to agree on specifications is sufficient.

Technical Readiness Level (TRL) at Project Start

The system of systems (including federation) must be at Preliminary Design Review (PDR) level.
Each elementary system (dedicated to a specific sensor type) must be at PDR level.
New sensor payloads must be at a minimum of PDR level (or higher).

Application Process

Application Timeline

Application deadline: 2025-10-16T00:00:00+0000.
Submission is 'single-stage'.

Submission Process & Platform

Applications must be submitted via the 'Electronic Submission Service' on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Part B of the Application Form.

Required Documentation and Materials

Standard application form (EDF).
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).

Mandatory Project Tasks (Minimum Coverage)

Studies:
- Consolidate and optimise the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the system of systems and elementary systems.
- Consolidate and optimise the deployment strategy.
- Update technical and programmatic documentation from PDR (performance budget, development plan, risk assessment, costs evaluation).
- Issue a preliminary user manual for the Federation Layer.
- Produce technical documentation required for security accreditation by national security agencies.
Design:
- Complete detailed design definition at all levels (system, space components, ground segments).
- Produce, develop, test, and pre-qualify selected critical elements and components.
- Define detailed internal and external interfaces at system, satellite, and ground levels.
- Demonstrate new sensor payloads to reach at least TRL6.
- For sensors targeting the launch of a first batch of satellites during the action, achieve Critical Design Review (CDR) of the payload, satellite platform, and system, and Qualification Review of the satellite.
Prototyping:
- Develop an operational demonstrator of the Federation Layer.
- Develop prototypes of new sensor payloads as required for TRL6 demonstration.
- For sensors targeting the launch of a first batch of satellites, produce the first batch ready for launch.
Testing:
- Test the Federation Layer demonstrator with at least two types of sensor systems (commercial, national, or first batch of satellites) and at least three end-users.
- Conduct environment testing of new sensor payloads for TRL6 demonstration.
- Test and validate all satellite and ground critical interfaces.

Post-Award Expectations

At the end of the action, the suggested system should be mature enough to enable decision-making regarding procurement and the start of initial operational capability.

Evaluation Criteria

General Evaluation

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the official call document (not fully provided here).

Project Specifics and Impact

Proposals must clearly define and develop the overall architecture of the constellation, demonstrating close attention to 'end-to-end responsiveness and affordability'.
The proposed solution should achieve 'high performance payloads compatible with small satellites' for an 'affordable constellation'.
Industry proposals should result in an 'affordable solution' considering 'non-recurring and recurring costs', as well as 'operational and maintenance costs'.
The architecture must be 'modular and scalable' to adapt to an increasing number of satellites within the constellation or users.
Applicants must address how the solution can adapt to various forms of cooperation, governance models, and data policies for current and future co-financers, including potential EU stakeholders.
Proposals should define rules for 'prioritisation of tasking or processing requests', 'data management', 'data processing', and 'data dissemination'.
Synergy and complementarity with existing or planned activities in Earth observation for ISR applications (e.g., EDF-2022-DA-SPACE-ISR, EU Space programme activities like secure connectivity or earth observation governmental service) must be substantiated.

Functional Requirements (Expected Performance)

High revisit: scalable solution for increasing satellites to achieve intra-hour revisit for some use cases.
Affordable very high spatial resolution: below 0.5m with small satellites for optical visible video/still imagery and SAR.
Operational timeliness improvement: dynamic retasking (within minutes), automatic tipping/cueing, reduced downlink latency, enhanced data downlink throughput, reduced tasking-to-delivery time for end-user.
Highly digital architecture: advanced/flexible on-board processing for autonomous extraction of actionable information, automatic complementary tasking.
Space-to-ground efficiency: high data rate downlink and optimised downlink efficiency.
New space imagery and passive RF monitoring applications: new sensors, processes compatible with small satellites for Defence and Security products.
Big data analysis: system supporting high-speed analysis (fusion) and streaming of multi-sensor data for ISR.
Interoperability: able to integrate with external systems, ensuring scalable and secure information exchanges across participating EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries, and with the EU.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must comply with the 'EU Financial Regulation' (Regulation 2024/2509), the 'EDF Regulation' (Regulation 2021/697), and the 'STEP Regulation' (Regulation 2024/795).
'Space debris': The structural design of spacecraft and planned end-of-life activities must adhere to applicable space law(s) and incorporate space-debris mitigation measures.

Security and Data Protection

Proposals must define 'minimum-security common requirements' and detail their impact on technical design and costs.
The system must ensure 'integrity, confidentiality and availability' of data.
Solutions should include 'affordable crypto for up- and down-links'.
The multi-user nature of the constellation should anticipate future access by other institutional users for civilian missions (e.g., security or emergency).
Applicants must produce the technical documentation necessary for 'security accreditation of the system by national security agencies'.

Technical Development Milestones

Selected payloads are expected to reach a 'Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6'.
The developed 'Federation Layer prototype' must reach a minimum 'TRL 6'.

Consortium and Collaboration Requirements

Multi-beneficiary applications are 'mandatory'.
Projects must be implemented through 'actual cost grants'.
For activities from design to certification (Article 10(3), points (d) to (h)), a 'harmonised defence capability requirement' or 'common technical specifications' must be jointly agreed by at least two Member States or EDF Associated Countries.
For system prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification (Article 10(3), points (e) to (h)), projects must be 'supported by at least two Member States or EDF Associated Countries' that intend to procure or use the resulting product/technology collaboratively.

Cost Exclusions

The requested EU contribution for the proposal will 'not cover the associated launch(s) and deployment costs' for in-orbit demonstration of technologies or for the launch of a first batch of satellites. These costs must be borne by the owners of the prototype(s).

Strategic Considerations

The grant seeks to develop an 'affordable constellation' with 'high performance payloads compatible with small satellites', fostering a 'shared and sustainable capability'.
The proposed solution must demonstrate adaptability to various 'forms of cooperation', 'governance models', and 'data policy' frameworks for end-users and co-financers.
Solutions should remain 'modular and scalable' to accommodate potential increases in satellites or users.

Grant Details