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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single clear statement of grant's core objective: Develop and demonstrate a multiband 4D radar system to enhance EU naval capabilities and integrate into future ground/air surveillance systems, fostering strategic autonomy and interoperability.
Target recipient type and size: Primarily EU industries (including SMEs and larger enterprises) and defence forces from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Organizations must be established in EU Member States or EDF Associated Countries.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on advanced defence technology, specifically radar systems, and the development of a high-tech demonstrator for military applications.
Grant frequency and program context: This call is part of the 2025 European Defence Fund (EDF) Annual Work Programme, indicating a recurring program with specific annual calls.

Financial Structure

Total budget for this specific topic (EDF-2025-DA-SENS-MB4DR-STEP): 29,500,000 EUR.
Grant type: EDF Action Grant, Budget-Based.
Co-financing: A 'Cofinancing declaration' is a required document, indicating that co-financing from applicants is mandatory. The specific co-financing percentage is not specified in the provided information.
Eligible costs: Costs related to the eligible activities as defined by Article 10(3) of the EDF Regulation (e.g., integrating knowledge, studies, design, prototyping, testing, qualification, certification, life cycle efficiency development).
Ineligible costs: Activities that solely aim to generate new knowledge ('generating knowledge' or basic research).
Indirect costs: An 'Actual indirect cost methodology declaration' is required, meaning specific rules and methodologies apply for calculating and declaring indirect costs. These are typically covered at a flat rate or based on actual costs as per EU financial regulations.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type

Eligible entities: Companies ('EU industries'), including SMEs and larger enterprises, and defence forces from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. This implies private companies, public research organizations, and defence-related agencies.

Geographic Location

Organizations must be established in an EU Member State or an EDF Associated Country. (Note: Specific associated countries are not listed in this document, but typically include non-EU NATO members or countries with specific agreements).

Consortium Requirement

Participation in a consortium is implied and generally required for EDF Development Actions to ensure cross-border collaboration and enhance interoperability. Documents refer to 'harmonised capability declaration' and 'cooperative capability network'.

Eligible Activities (as per Art 10(3) EDF Regulation)

Eligible and mandatory activities:
- Activities that aim to increase interoperability and resilience, including secured production and exchange of data, to master critical defence technologies, to strengthen the security of supply or to enable the effective exploitation of results for defence products and technologies ('integrating knowledge').
- Studies, such as feasibility studies to explore the feasibility of new or upgraded products, technologies, processes, services and solutions.
- Design of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology as well as the definition of the technical specifications on which such design has been developed, including partial tests for risk reduction in an industrial or representative environment.
Eligible and optional activities:
- System prototyping of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology.
- Testing of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology.
- Qualification of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology.
- Certification of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology.
- Development of technologies or assets increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products and technologies.
Ineligible activities:
- Activities that aim to create, underpin and improve knowledge, including disruptive technologies, which can achieve significant effects in the area of defence ('generating knowledge' or basic research) are not eligible for this call.

Application Process

Application Timeline and Deadlines

Submission session opens: 2025-02-18.
Application deadline: 2025-10-16 at 00:00:00 UTC.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in section 4 of the call document (information not provided in this extract).

Application Process

Process: Single-stage submission.
Submission method: Applications must be submitted electronically via the Electronic Submission Service available through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Applicants click the submission button next to the topic.

Required Documentation and Materials

Standard application form (EDF) specific to this call.
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).

Support and Resources

For help related to this call, contact: [email protected].
IT Helpdesk: Available for technical questions (e.g., forgotten passwords, access rights, technical submission aspects).
Online Manual: Provides a step-by-step online guide through the portal processes.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Available for general questions on proposal submission.
EDF Info-days 2025: Scheduled events to provide more information (attendee dates not specified in extract).

Evaluation Criteria

Strategic Alignment and Impact

Contribution to the proper coverage of use cases integrating technologies established through EU industries.
Improvement of operational capabilities and resilience of EU Member States' and EDF Associated Countries' defence forces.
Increased interoperability and interchangeability between participating EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries and industry.
Development of innovative, efficient, scalable, and adaptable systems for different platforms (naval, ground, air).
Reduction of future system development and life cycle maintenance costs.
Enhancement of EU strategic autonomy and technological superiority.
Contribution to STEP objectives, specifically in deep and digital technologies.

Technical Excellence and Quality

Enhanced capability of the integration of advanced technologies (RF electronics, digital technology, photonics, smart antennas, machine learning, multiplatform virtualisation, cloud/edge computing) in a multiband 4D radar demonstrator.
Ability to perform simultaneous sea, land, air, and space warfare capabilities.
Suitability for integration into naval platform self/area-defence and combat management systems, and air surveillance command and control systems.
Enhanced detection capabilities for conventional air/surface, Tactical Ballistic Missiles (TBM), hypersonic targets, and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) objects.
Ability to be integrated into a cooperative capability network for multi-static operation.
Simultaneous operation in multiple frequency bands (aiming for at least one decade from L to X bands) and hybrid active-passive radar operation.
Provision of capabilities for management of bidirectional weapon datalinks.
Seamless integration within combat management system and fire control loop.
Inclusion of innovative collaborative capabilities to augment force efficiency.
Addressing key functional requirements: operation concept for challenging scenarios, smart management of the spectrum, communications functionalities, scalable AESA design, minimal size, weight, and power (SWAP), minimization of RF emissions.
Adherence to architectural concepts: Integrated Modular and Scalable Architecture (IMOSA), software multiplatform virtualisation, fully digital AESA, resilient cyber-physical system, network-enabled radar.

Implementation Quality and Feasibility

Clear definition of operationally realistic use cases (vignettes) and Measures of Effectiveness (MoEs).
Defined and modelled tasks for multiband operation.
Clear plan for integration into different naval platforms and expected performance.
Quality of simulations to evaluate the multiband approach.
Detailed design architecture and interfaces.
Robust hardware and software definition for multiband 4D operation.
Plan for developing a multiband and multifunction AESA antenna demonstrator.
Development of a software model/digital twin for performance simulation.
Defined software processes for spectrum management optimization.
Identification of algorithms to optimize performance for specified challenging targets.
Plan for functional tests of the integrated model and analysis of results.
Strategy for extrapolating results to practical scenarios and improving the software model.
Demonstrated synergies and complementarity with foreseen, ongoing, or completed activities in advanced active and passive sensors (e.g., specific past EDF/PADR calls).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must comply with the EDF Regulation 2021/697.
Adherence to EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is mandatory.
Compliance with the 'Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment' is required.

Project-Specific Technical Requirements

The proposed product and technologies must be a 4D Radar that performs simultaneous sea, land, air, and space warfare capabilities.
Must perform simultaneous multiband radar operation, aiming for coverage of at least one decade from L to X bands, including smart management of the spectrum.
Required to provide communications functionalities, specifically bidirectional datalinks to weapon and effector systems and other remote cooperative signal/carriers.
The system design should be a scalable AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) adaptable to multiple naval platforms and future ground-air surveillance systems.
Must incorporate the objective of minimal size, weight, and power (SWAP).
Requires minimization of RF emissions without compromising function quality.
Must align with specific architectural concepts: Integrated Modular and Scalable Architecture (IMOSA), software multiplatform virtualisation, and use of fully digital AESA.
The final system must be a resilient cyber-physical system, preventing malware and gaps in cyber, cyber-physical, and physical dimensions.
Expected to be a network-enabled radar that explores the sustainability challenges facing digitalisation and military data centers.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property policies are typically governed by the EDF Model Grant Agreement (details not provided in this specific extract).

Risk Management and Testing

Proposals should elaborate a roadmap to de-risk product feasibility.
The multiband AESA integrated demonstrator should be demonstrated at least in a controlled environment (e.g., anechoic chamber) but preferably in a relevant operational environment.

Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Financial Structure

Eligibility Requirements

Application Process

Evaluation Criteria

Compliance & Special Requirements

Grant Details