The European Commission announced the adoption of the second annual work programme of the European Defence Fund (EDF) on Wednesday 25 May. The 2022 programme will allocate up to a total of €924 million in funding and introduces a series of new tools to promote innovation in the defence field, all grouped under the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS).
More than €120 million will be allocated to space for: - the development of space-based missile early warning capabilities and innovative multi-sensor Earth observation capabilities for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes; - research for a responsive space system capable of rapidly placing small satellites in different orbits.
The same amount is foreseen for the naval sector, for actions related to the development of a vessel class particularly suited to small and medium-sized navies and a European collaborative naval surveillance capability that will enable naval forces to deal with new, smaller, faster and more diverse threats.
In addition, €70 million will be allocated to R&D efforts in cyberspace. The same amount will go to ‘information superiority’, for projects contributing to the development of a European Command and Control system and a deployable command post for special operations. In the field of research, funding efforts will focus on interoperability and data exchange between civil and military control centres as part of the ‘Single European Sky’.
The Commission says that high-end defence capabilities and enabling technologies are also covered by the work programme. This includes the development of a medium-sized tactical cargo aircraft contributing to military mobility, airborne electronic warfare, collaborative combat for land forces and technologies and sustainable components for underwater applications.
Eight calls for proposals will be opened in early June.
In addition, under the EUDIS, the Commission intends to invest €20 million per year in a defence equity facility, up to €100 million. It also plans to work on a technological challenge to attest and refine hidden threat detection technologies. In addition, a new work programme calls for a four-year partnership to develop medical countermeasures to defend against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
See the fact sheet: https://aeur.eu/f/1tg (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)