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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to develop state-of-the-art, effective, and reliable solutions for automating and synchronising distributed military cyberspace operations. The goal is to enhance the cyber defence capabilities of EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. - Target recipients: Organisations within the defence community of EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Defence, Cybersecurity. - Geographic scope: EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on military cyber defence operations, distributed systems, automation, AI, and solutions that support tactical and operational war levels. - Grant frequency: This is part of the annual European Defence Fund (EDF) work programme. - Program context: This call contributes to the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) objectives, focusing on deep and digital technologies.

Financial Structure

The total budget allocated for this specific call topic (EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP) for 2025 is 34,000,000 EUR.
The grant type is an 'EDF Action Grant Budget-Based', implemented via 'actual cost grants'.
No specific minimum or maximum grant amount per individual proposal is provided within the available information.
Eligible and ineligible costs are described in section 10 of the call document (not provided).
A 'Cofinancing declaration (EDF DA, DA LS AND ASAP)' is a required document, indicating that co-financing may be required, but the percentage or structure is not specified in this document.
An 'Actual indirect cost methodology declaration (EDF)' is a required document.
Financial and operational capacity requirements are detailed in section 7 of the call document (not provided).

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Organisations from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries are eligible. The specific list of associated countries is not provided within the grant text.
Proposals must demonstrate the capacity to develop capabilities aligned with the needs for military cyberspace operations.
Projects must contribute to the STEP objectives, specifically in the target investment area of deep and digital technologies.

Technical Expertise and Infrastructure

Required expertise in developing solutions for 'Cyber Force Multiplication', 'Cyber Command Augmentation', and 'Self-Adaptive Protection'.
Capability to handle orchestration and synchronisation of distributed cyber actions in military cyberspace operations.
Expertise in decentralised battlespace management.
Ability to develop mechanisms for tracking and monitoring cyber activities, ensuring audit trails and compliance.
Skill in developing mission-centric and shared cyber situational awareness between distributed cyber forces.
Competence in cyber defence function disaggregation, allowing functional separation into independent components.
Proficiency in integrating transparent and explainable AI algorithms for decision-making support.
Experience with emerging technological enablers such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, cloud computing, data fusion, or simulation for wargaming.

Consortium Requirements

Prototyping tasks must include the involvement of stakeholders from relevant EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.
Proposals should substantiate interfaces with existing and under development EU, NATO, and national systems to ensure future interoperability.

Exclusions

Activities that aim only to create, underpin, and improve knowledge, products, and technologies, including disruptive technologies (as per art 10(3)(a) EDF Regulation) are not eligible for funding under this topic. The focus is on 'Development Actions'.

Application Process

Application Deadlines

The official submission deadline for proposals is 2025-10-16 00:00:00+00:00 UTC.
The submission session officially opened on 2025-02-18.

Submission Process

The application process follows a single-stage submission procedure.
Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service.
Applicants are required to confirm their chosen 'type of action' and 'type of model grant agreement' within the submission system, as this selection cannot be changed later.
Existing draft proposals can be accessed by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and navigating to the 'My Proposals' page in the 'My Area' section.

Required Documentation and Materials

The specific application form for this EDF call, available directly in the Submission System.
A detailed budget table (EDF DA format).
Participant information (EDF format).
A comprehensive list of infrastructure, facilities, assets, and resources (EDF format).
A cofinancing declaration (EDF DA, DA LS AND ASAP format).
A declaration outlining the actual indirect cost methodology (EDF format).
A harmonised capability declaration (EDF DA AND DA LS format).
A declaration on procurement intent and common specifications (EDF DA AND DA LS format).
An ownership control declaration.
A PRS declaration (EDF format).

Project Implementation Timeline

The proposed duration for the implementation of the project should not exceed 24 months.

Support and Guidance

For help related to this call, applicants can contact [email protected].
Additional support resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ (for submission queries), information from EDF Info-days 2025, the IT Helpdesk (for technical issues like passwords and access rights), and the Online Manual (a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes).

Evaluation Criteria

The detailed evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the official call document, which is not provided here. However, based on the 'Expected Impact' and 'Scope' sections, the following aspects are highly likely to be key scoring factors: Impact and Relevance

Contribution to the improvement of efficiency and adaptability for distributed military operations in the cyberspace domain.
Ability to facilitate easier incorporation of new technologies and collaborative Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) into EU cyberspace operations.
Enhancement of the implementation of operational strategy by strengthening the decomposition of cyber forces.
Strengthening of a more competitive, technologically independent European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) in cyber defence and cyberspace operations.
Improvement of interoperability and future capabilities of EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries forces in cyber defence for conducting cyberspace operations.
Promotion of cooperative efforts aligned with the EU Policy on Cyber Defence (EPCD).
Contribution to enhancing the resilience of EU cyberspace, mitigating known risks, and protecting mission networks from cyber threats.

Technical Quality and Innovation

State-of-the-art and effectiveness of the proposed solutions for distributed military cyberspace operations.
Integration of emerging technological enablers such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, cloud computing, data fusion, or simulation for serious wargaming.
Comprehensive coverage of 'Cyber Force Multiplication', 'Cyber Command Augmentation', and 'Self-Adaptive Protection' areas.
Adherence to functional requirements including orchestration, decentralised battlespace management, activity tracking, shared cyber situational awareness, cyber defence function disaggregation, and transparent/explainable AI.
Robustness of simulation and modelling capabilities for assessing feasibility and exploring opportunities.

Implementation and Feasibility

Substantiation of clear synergies and complementarity with foreseen, ongoing, or completed activities at national, multinational, or EU level (e.g., EDIDP-CSAMN-SSC-2019, EDF-2022-DA-C4ISR-EC2, EDF-2021-CYBER-R-CDAI, EDF-2023-DA-CYBER-CSA).
Demonstrated capacity to develop capabilities aligned with military cyberspace operations needs.
Realistic and effective plan for stakeholder involvement from relevant EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries during prototyping tasks.
Robust plan for ensuring interoperability with existing and under development EU, NATO, and national systems.

Strategic Alignment

Clear alignment of the proposal with the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) objectives, specifically within deep and digital technologies.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Ethical Compliance

Projects must adhere to the legal and financial set-up requirements for grants, as described in section 10 of the call document (not provided).
Compliance with EDF Regulation (EU) 2021/697 is mandatory.
Compliance with EU Financial Regulation (EU) 2024/2509 is required.
Applicants must follow the 'Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment'.
Adherence to the EU Grants Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA) is expected.

Security and Data Protection

Compliance with the 'EDF Programme Security Instruction (PSI)' is mandatory.

Technical and Operational Requirements

Solutions developed must operate and, where possible, automate larger parts of EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries military cyberspace operations in a distributed manner.
The focus of development must be on tactical and operational war levels, although scenarios at all war levels (strategical, operational, tactical, technical) may be considered.
Proposed solutions should integrate emerging technological enablers such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, cloud computing, data fusion, or simulation for serious wargaming.
Functional requirements include orchestration and synchronisation of distributed cyber actions, decentralised battlespace management, mechanisms for tracking and monitoring cyber activities, development of mission-centric and shared cyber situational awareness, cyber defence function disaggregation, analysis and assessment of multiple action patches, and the use of transparent and explainable AI algorithms.

Special Considerations

This call topic explicitly contributes to the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) objectives, specifically within the target investment area of deep and digital technologies.
Proposals are required to substantiate synergies and complementarity with foreseen, ongoing, or completed activities at national, multinational, or EU level, citing examples like EDIDP-CSAMN-SSC-2019, EDF-2022-DA-C4ISR-EC2, EDF-2021-CYBER-R-CDAI, and EDF-2023-DA-CYBER-CSA.
Ensuring future interoperability with existing and under development EU, NATO, and national systems is a key requirement.
The grant strictly focuses on 'Development Actions' and explicitly excludes activities solely for 'generating knowledge' (as defined in art 10(3)(a) EDF Regulation).
The involvement of stakeholders from relevant EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries is a mandatory aspect of the prototyping tasks.

Grant Details