Counter-drone systems
European Commission · European Defence Fund (EDF)
Posted 30 Apr 2026 · 13 days left
In plain terms
The European Commission funds the common procurement of counter-drone systems and related technologies by consortia of legal entities from EU and associated countries to strengthen defence cooperation and counter aerial threats. The total budget is 180 million euros and proposals are due by 13 October 2026.
A generated summary of the donor's text; the original wording is below.
Summary
Expected Impact:
The results of the activities should contribute to support common procurement, leading to strengthening the cooperation among Member States and associated countries, as well as to greater interoperability. Furthermore, they should contribute to the replenishment of depleted stockpiles of counter-drone systems, to the increase of existing stockpiles or to establishment of defence industrial readiness pool, as well as to the development and reinforcement of counter-drone solutions as drones are being increasingly perceived as a pressing threat.
Objective:
This topic aims at actions supporting the common procurement of integrated systems (e.g. VSHORAD or SHORAD) or parts thereof (including sensors, kinetic or non-kinetic effectors - including direct energy weapons -, command and control solutions) to counter unmanned aerial, ground, surface or underwater vehicles, including those controlled remotely or operating autonomously using advanced software and sensors.
Scope:
Common procurement actions under this topic shall consist of activities related to the cooperation of legal entities in the procurement of integrated counter-drone systems or parts thereof, at any point…
Excerpt from the donor's page. The full text, annexes and forms are on the original call.
Eligible regions
- eu_only
Who can apply
- private_company
- academia_research
- government
Eligibility and conditions
Show the eligibility text from the source
">Conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in section 5 of the call document
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries
described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other eligibility conditions
described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in section 10 of the call document.
Call document and annexes:
Call document
Application form templates
Application Form (EDIP and USI)
Calculator (EDIP CPA LS)
Participant Info (EDIP and USI)
List of Infrastructure, facilities, assets and resources (EDIP and USI)
Ownership Control Declaration
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
EDF, ASAP, EDIRPA, EDIP and USI Lump Sum MGA
Additional documents:
EDIP Work Programme
EDIP Regulation 2025/2643
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement