In 2024, the European Defence Agency (EDA) consolidated its position as Europe’s leading platform for collaborative defence research, already managing or negotiating more than 100 research and technology (R&T) projects worth €681 million, the Agency announced in its annual report published on Tuesday 8 April.
“This is an unprecedented level of investment”, enthused EDA Executive Director Jiří Šedivý.
By the end of 2024, 51 new research and technology (R&T) projects were being negotiated at the EDA, worth €310 million, giving a total value, including the existing portfolio of 68 R&T projects, of €681 million, according to the report.
In addition, last year, its 20th anniversary, the EDA launched projects and supported Member States throughout the capacity development cycle for 171 ad hoc projects (43 capability projects, 128 R&T projects) and 28 projects financed by the EU under the European Defence Fund.
In addition, as part of the 155mm artillery ammunition project’s ‘fast track’ initiative, designed to ensure the rapid delivery of ammunition to Member States in support of Ukraine, the EDA signed 60 framework contracts with European manufacturers, the EDA announced. Nine Member States have already placed orders via the European Defence Agency. The first deliveries of 155 mm ammunition and artillery began in May 2024, and others will continue until 2025. The maximum combined value of framework contracts available to Member States is €1.6 billion, according to the EDA.
The next priority is the acquisition of 84mm Carl Gustaf anti-tank ammunition, for which the procurement procedure for a five-year contract was launched in December 2024, the report states, adding that orders are expected in 2025.
To see the EDA annual report: https://aeur.eu/f/gbj (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)