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€1bn for EU defence R&D includes chiplets, 4D radar

€1bn for EU defence R&D includes chiplets, 4D radar

Technology News |
By Nick Flaherty

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The European Commission has announced over €1bn for defence research and development (R&D) projects including chiplets, 4D radar and IR sensors.

The fifth annual Work Programme under the European Defence Fund (EDF) is allocating €1.065bn with over €100m in each of the nine areas and is open to Ukrainian companies and researchers for the first time.

The competitive framework includes €58.5m for the development of multiband 4D radar technologies and infrared detectors, as well as €25m for chiplets. There is also €93m for the next generation of motors for rotorcraft, as well as €54m for cybersecurity for autonomous vehicles and €105m for collaborative air systems where drones operate with piloted aircraft. There is also €43m for unspecified disruptive technologies, looking at more long term research.

This comes as the UK is running a procurement programme to acquire long range drones for the British Army. The UK is also part of a consortium to send 30,000 drones to Ukraine this year as part of the war with Russia. For the first time, Ukrainian companies and researchers will also be eligible to receive acceleration support as third parties for the EU framework programmes.

In addition to R&D grants, the 2025 round will fund innovation support activities. This includes the 2nd edition of the EUDIS Defence Hackathon, which will take place on 9-11 May 2025 in eight different EU locations and focus on creating innovative hardware and software solutions tailored to the urgent needs of the Ukrainian battlefield and similar operational contexts.

The EU framework includes 15 topics to support research actions and 14 for the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) for digital technologies and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies and biotechnologies for medical applications as well as chiplets and sensing technologies.

The European Defence Fund has a budget of around €7.3 billion for the period 2021-27 for collaborative and interoperable defence R&D.

“A functioning European Defence Market strengthens Europe´s security and preparedness. The European Defence Fund is vital to our pursuit of tech sovereignty in the field of defence. The 2025 Work Programme solidifies Europe’s ability to act independently,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

“As we adopt the 5th European Defence Fund Work Programme, we are reinforcing our commitment to strengthen European defence industry and develop the next generation technologies and capabilities our armed forces need to keep Europeans safe. The continued common investment in defence R&D is key for the strengthening of Europe’s defence readiness,” said Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space

Calls for proposals are expected to be opened for submission in mid-February 2025, with a deadline for submission of 16 October 2025. Non-thematic calls for proposals, open exclusively to SMEs or SMEs together with research organisations, are also supported under the Work Programme.

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