The European Commission is presenting AGILE, a €115 million pilot funding tool to rapidly move disruptive defence technologies from lab into practical use. It targets AI, quantum, drones and other advanced solutions, with a strong focus on SMEs, including start-ups and scale-ups. AGILE responds to the need for very short innovation cycles, enabling development, testing and deployment in weeks or months instead of years. It is tailored to “New Defence” players that operate at high speed in a rapidly digitalising conflict environment.
AGILE aims at offering fast, flexible, company-centred funding, with an unprecedented time-to-grant of four months and expected delivery to defence forces within 1–3 years. It will fund 20–30 projects, covering up to 100% of eligible costs and allowing retroactive reimbursement of expenses up to three months before the call deadline.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_687