Platforms and end-products

Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to one or more of the following: Quantum-resistant cryptographic primitives, also other than lattice-based approaches if relevant, that enhance the security and privacy of digital wallets, both for natural persons and wallets, as well as the design and implementation of post-quantum solutions for entity authentication and authenticated key establishment over insecure networks; Formal verification tools, improved High-Assurance Cryptographic Software (HACS) approaches and their integration in software workflows, to provide strong security guarantees in post-quantum migration, and enable streamlined evidence-based evaluation of secure systems that use cryptography. Scope: The development of new digital signatures and advanced cryptographic schemes, tailored specifically to the use cases and requirements in the context of wallets/eIDs, for privacy and business applications is highly relevant nowadays. Moreover, these devices need secure connections over insecure networks requiring protocols for entity authentication, authenticated key establishment, as well as Password Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) schemes for ensuring user…

Expected Outcome: Objectives This pilot project seeks to integrate social economy principles into sustainable tourism and foster transnational cooperation among local communities along one or more selected long trails or specific portion of one or several long trails crossing EU Member States. The objective is to promote socio-economic and territorial development through a bottom-up approach, using existing long-distance tourist trails as test cases for sustainable tourism, notably in rural areas. The project targets transnational consortia to explore and test sustainable tourism models along these trails, based on social economy approaches, creating blueprints for possible replication across other EU regions. This initiative complements other existing EU efforts by leveraging local capacities to foster smart social economy models for sustainable rural development. Expected impact The call is expected to: Explore and test ideas on how to better integrate social economy principles into sustainable tourism; Facilitate transnational cooperation of local communities and cross-border transfer of good practices; Increase awareness about the potential of the social economy and the social…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Improved protection of minors, including by more reliable age assessments and by minimising the use of intrusive age assessment methods; Improved adaptation, preparedness and cooperation of authorities in the fight against human trafficking; Expanded European-based knowledge on reliability, accuracy and effectiveness of age assessment methods. Scope: Many unaccompanied children and young persons arriving at the external EU borders and seeking asylum, lack official documents showing their identity and age. Age assessment methods are important as they contribute to the determination of, for example, where an individual will be initially housed and what services, supports, and legal processes they will receive to ensure protection and, if applicable, child protection. In other cases, minors are victim of trafficking of human beings (THB) criminal activities, either across the EU external borders, or within the EU borders. In other cases again, age assessment methods are necessary for law enforcement investigations on protecting children, forensic investigation, and/or the…

Expected Outcome: Actions funded under this Call are expected to contribute to: Increased participation of under-represented groups in entrepreneurial activities; Improved access to tailored incubation services and financing opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs facing structural barriers; Enhanced entrepreneurial skills, business readiness and sustainability of supported enterprises; Strengthened cooperation between incubation providers, financial actors and employment or social inclusion stakeholders; Development of innovative, evidence-based approaches, as a possible source of inspiration for other initiatives; Improved knowledge and policy learning regarding effective inclusive entrepreneurship support mechanisms. In the longer term, the Call is expected to contribute to more inclusive labour markets, job creation, strengthened social economy ecosystems and reduced inequalities in access to entrepreneurship opportunities within the European Union. Scope: General Objective The general objective of this Call for proposals is to promote inclusive entrepreneurship across the European Union by supporting incubation models and financing solutions that enable new and aspiring…

Expected Impact: In the long-term , the funding is expected to: have increased operational capacity of law enforcement and other security-oriented authorities to fight organised crime and drug production and trafficking, including an improved capability to trace and untangle complex money laundering schemes as well as illicit flows of goods. enhance risk assessments and risk awareness and resilience measures in view of anticipating, preventing and tackling organised crime and drug related crimes. have improved cross-border cooperation including with key third countries and information exchange (including where possible and applicable with the private sector) and sharing of challenges and good practices in fighting against organised crime. have improved detection, identification and referral of victims of crime in the context of cross-border operational actions, as well as improved protection of victims in criminal proceedings, in cooperation with civil society organisations. Expected Outcome: Projects should aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes: increase understanding of the nature and modus operandi of criminal networks and key actors and enablers including in…

Expected Impact: In the long-term , the funding is expected to: have increased operational capacity of law enforcement authorities to fight organised crime, including an improved capability to trace and untangle complex money laundering schemes. have improved cross-border cooperation and sharing of challenges and best practices in fighting against organised crime. have improved detection, identification and referral of victims of crime in the context of cross-border operational actions, as well as improved protection of victims in criminal proceedings, in cooperation with civil society organisations. Expected Outcome: Projects should aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes: increase understanding of the nature and modus operandi of criminal networks and key actors and enablers. enhance coordination of law enforcement authorities in cross-border operations and support multi-stakeholders coordinated responses. increase involvement of civil society and other relevant (non-law enforcement) stakeholders in preventing and combating organised crime. increase the availability and use of technical tools for law enforcement. Objective: The overall objective of the action is to…

Scope: This topic aims to follow up and complement previous activities for the development of an endo-atmospheric interceptor by maturing key technologies required to successfully counter hypersonic and ballistic threats up to TRL 6. It should build on specific concept designs and advance the required technologies by developing dedicated demonstrators, e.g. for airframe, propulsion, platform separation, lethality, threat tracking and acquisition. This topic contributes to the STEP objectives as defined in the STEP Regulation in the target investment area of defence technologies. Management mode: Action implemented in indirect management by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation. Form of funding: Contribution Agreement. Entrusted tasks : Implementation of actual cost grants following a competitive call. Targeted types of activities: Studies, design, system prototyping and testing, not excluding upstream and downstream activities eligible for development actions. Indicative budget: EUR 100 000 000 for this topic under the EDF-2026-DA call and EUR 2 000 000 for the remuneration of the entrusted entity. Indicative number of proposals to be funded: One proposal is to be funded…

Scope: Proposals must demonstrate their disruptive impact on defence applications in order to accelerate the creation and deployment of novel solutions for armed forces and support the uptake of new civilian innovations in the defence sector. Proposals must focus on enhancing operational readiness and effectiveness, improving strategic decision-making and addressing emerging threats through cutting-edge technologies or products. Solutions must embrace disruption to enable armed forces to gain a technological edge and adapt to rapidly evolving security challenges, ultimately ensuring radical technological superiority over potential adversaries. Proposals must address disruptive knowledge, products and technologies in any area of defence interest reaching at least TRL4 . The funded actions should aim to achieve a rapid time-to-market. Management mode : Action implemented in indirect management by the European Defence Agency. Indicative number of proposals to be funded: Several proposals may be funded. Range of financial contribution of the EU per proposal: The requested funding cannot exceed EUR 3 000 000. Targeted types of activities: At least generating knowledge or integrating…

Scope: The objective of this topic is to assess the feasibility of creating an AI framework for defence applications as a springboard for developing future tactical intelligence concepts by providing military simulation capabilities, historical data sets, a rich scenario and benchmark database, access to doctrinal models and output from previously developed AI services. This would also enable a common simulation framework for war games/combat simulations with the potential to similarly facilitate improved learning support in mission planning and execution, including through AI-enabled battlespace simulation. Beyond defence technologies, this topic also contributes to the STEP objectives as defined in the STEP Regulation in the target investment area of deep and digital technologies. Targeted types of activities: Studies and design, not excluding upstream and downstream activities eligible for research actions. Indicative budget: EUR 16 000 000 for this topic under the EDF-2026-RA call. Range of financial contribution of the EU per proposal : The requested funding cannot exceed EUR 8 000 000. Indicative number of proposals to be funded: Several proposals may be funded for this…

Scope: Air-to-air refuelling enhances military operations by enabling long-range missions. Refuelling currently requires manual coordination between tanker operators and receiving pilots, which is complex and labour-intensive. Automated air-to-air refuelling solutions are expected to reduce workload and increase safety for both crews, while also being essential for future unmanned aerial systems. The objective of this topic is to explore the development of sensor systems, in particular hardware and sensor fusion, to enable accurate relative navigation between tanker, receiver and refuelling systems, even in adverse conditions. In addition, enhanced optical sensors, advanced image processing, flight control algorithms and pilot assistance interfaces will play a crucial role in improving the docking and refuelling process, increasing safety and time efficiency. This topic contributes to the STEP objectives as defined in the STEP Regulation in the target investment area of defence technologies. Targeted types of activities: Integrating knowledge, studies and design, not excluding upstream activities eligible for research actions. Indicative budget: EUR 20 000 000 for this topic under…