European Commission adopted the European Defence Fund’s (EDF) annual Work Programme for 2026 dedicating one billion Euro to supporting collaborative defence research and development (R&D) projects. Since its inception in 2021, the EDF has already funded 224 projects with around four billion Euro, significantly increasing European cooperation on defence R&D.
With this new round of investments, the European Commission’s flagship for defence R&D will address 31 collaborative defence R&D topics, in critical and urgent areas in line with the commonly agreed capability development priorities. The distribution of topics is striking a balance between funding research and development on the traditional backbone of defence, on future capability areas and on defence innovation and ensuring support for small and medium enterprises and mid-caps.
Commonly agreed critical capability priorities remain at the forefront with half of the budget earmarked to support collaborative R&D on major defence capabilities, including the development of an EU endo-atmospheric interceptor, main battle tank, multiple rocket launcher, semi-autonomous vessel, key technologies for next generation air fighters, as well as integration of Galileo Public Regulated Service receivers.
Recognising the importance of future defence technologies, one quarter of the budget will address critical technologies and capabilities in various forward-looking areas, such as quantum-secured networks, electronic warfare, multi-domain operations cloud, high-performance energy systems, as well as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear decontamination, or using AI and swarms of small robots and drones for tactical awareness.
With a last quarter of the budget dedicated to the implementation of the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS), the 2026 EDF Work Programme underlines the Commission’s commitment to enhancing the European innovation capacity and strengthening the involvement of SMEs and mid-caps in the defence sector. EUDIS supports innovation and disruptive technologies for defence applications, as well as inclusive and robust supply chains, with:
- Almost €60 million of the budget allocated to disruptive technologies, such as over-the-horizon detection,
- Over €60 million dedicated to non-thematic calls for proposals for SMEs,
- 1 technological challenge to improve AI-based technologies for tactical situational awareness,
- 2 spin-in call topics to allow for smooth adaptation of civilian technologies to defence requirements (turbofan engine and protection of critical seabed infrastructure),
- Financial Support to Third Parties, allowing smaller players to identify and increase potential business opportunities in the defence sector, for the first time as an option in any of the EDF calls,
- And two EUDIS Defence Hackathons to be held, each taking place simultaneously across eight different locations in Europe. The first call for local organisers is already open (11/12 – 25/01) and the first Defence Hackathon event is planned already from 26-28 March 2026. The second call will be announced Spring 2026.
The EUDIS Business Accelerator will expand its support for startups and scaleups, launching two cohorts of 20 companies each in an 8-month defence accelerator programme designed to strengthen their position within the European defence industrial ecosystem. Each company will receive tailored coaching, participate in five European bootcamps, access testing facilities, receive a €120,000 performance-based seed-funding voucher, and compete for additional rewards for top performers. The two cohorts will run with the Spring cohort starting in March and the Autumn cohort starting in September. The call for applications for the Spring EUDIS Business Accelerator cohort is now open! (16/12-27/01).
The EUDIS Matchmaking programme will also expand its support and deliver more than ten onsite and online events to connect technology founders with investors and industry leaders, fostering capacity building, collaboration and business growth in the European defence sector.
Additionally, over €20 million are allocated to dedicated measures supporting SMEs and mid-caps, such as equity financing through the Defence Equity Facility implemented by the European Investment Fund and business coaching for all SMEs implementing EDF projects.
‘’ Europe must strengthen collaboration in defence, with the European Defence Fund acting as a key foundation for this effort. For the sixth time, we are investing significant resources to incentivise and support research and development on major defence capabilities. With €1 billion in the 2026 European Defence Fund, we are putting collaboration at the centre of Europe’s defence innovation. We are turning shared priorities into shared capabilities,” said Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space.