Over EUR1 billion has been set aside for the fifth European Defence Fund (EDF) Work Programme.

The European Defence Fund (EDF) has issued the annual Work Programme for 2025, with small and medium-sized enterprise’s (SMEs) set to receive a dedicated EUR67 million budget.

Announced on 30 January, the Work Programme is designed to aid research and development efforts, promote cooperation, and boost military capabilities.

Under the EUR67 million dedicated budget, the EDF is calling for non-thematic proposals from SMEs for innovative technologies and research that can be turned into defence products.

This non-specific call allows potential applicants to propose any eligible innovative technology with the potential to win up to EUR6 million each.

The technology must, however, improve readiness, deployability, reliability, safety and sustainability of forces in defence tasks and missions, for example in terms of operations, equipment, infrastructure, energy solutions, surveillance systems or digital solutions.

The overall ambition is “to turn technology and research results into defence products in a fast and cost-efficient way”, the Work Programme stipulated.

Eligible activities for funding range from feasibility studies of a new product to the design, system prototyping, testing, qualification, feasibility, and certification for defence products.

Non-traditional SMEs or those with dual-use solutions are also encouraged to apply, as the initiative is interested in adapting civil technologies and addressing hybrid warfare.

The European Commission expects these non-thematic SME proposals will “enhance innovation capacity across Europe” and facilitate greater access to defence markets for SMEs.

The EDF Work Programme – five years in

The EDF’s 2025 Work Programme covers nine calls for proposals, totalling over EUR1 billion – with 33 topic areas – many of which represent opportunities for SMEs.

The European Commission directly administers the EDF with the aim of promoting industry cooperation, boosting defence capabilities, and driving forward interoperability and innovation.

The EDF is administered alongside partner schemes and agencies, such as the EU Defence Innovation Scheme, and is supported by the European Defence Agency.