Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The European Defence Fund (EDF) is the Commission’s initiative to support collaborative defence research and development, and to foster an innovative and competitive defence industrial base.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
This topic has opened under the call ”Avionics and advanced air combat” (EDF-2021-AIR-D).
The improvement in the performance of effectors and platforms and the networking of more and more various systems in an increasingly collaborative combat mode result in a greater diversity and a greater amount of information to deal with, while requiring an even higher pilot’s responsiveness. The objective is therefore to improve the gender-neutral cockpit environment and to provide the pilot of next generation air combat systems with enhanced tools and avionics in order to keep the pilot efficiently focused on the mission to be carried out, e.g. through AI based pilot support, integrated sensor management, path finding technology or manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) enhanced features.
Detailed Call Description
Τhis topic addresses the rise in maturity, with the objective to reach TRL4, supported by demonstrations, of technological and technical solutions necessary for future enhanced products.
The proposals may consider existing manned and unmanned air platforms and future ones under development, including training aircraft in a long term perspective or as quick-win.
Against the background of the design of new generation air combat platforms in Europe, or upgrades of those today in service, the following themes have to be considered:
- Adaptive human system collaboration: adaptive collaborative HMI for operations in a distributed environment with multiplatform assets and the definition of novel design and interaction principles for managing automated/autonomous aircraft functions and cooperating with System-of-Systems team mates, including adaptive interfaces;
- Visualisation: both visualisation products and advanced pilot information presentation capabilities;
- Crew monitoring system: systems and techniques able to support and assist pilots, and in general human operators in performing the flight and mission control in a more demanding operational environment;
- Interaction modalities: the need for innovative HMI technologies including e.g. wearable, visionics, haptics, vocal command, virtual operator assistant, Augmented Reality, 3D holography and implementation concepts.
All of those themes will be able to rely, at different levels, on different technology building blocks exploiting the opportunity to use advanced research techniques such as artificial intelligence, machine learning or others that can enable more advanced capabilities for the overall mission performance.
The budget earmarked on 2021 appropriations for this action will be completed by an amount of EUR 109 000 000 from 2022 appropriations. This 2022 complementary budget is subject to the adoption of a separate financing decision.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Thematic Categories
- Other Thematic Category
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- International Organisations
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
The action shall be carried out by legal entities cooperating within a consortium of at least three eligible legal entities which are established in at least three different Member States or associated countries. At least three of those eligible legal entities established in at least two different Member States or associated countries shall not, during the entire period in which the action is carried out, be controlled, directly or indirectly, by the same legal entity and shall not control each other.
The admissibility and eligibility conditions are described under Article 9 and Article 10(4) of the EDF regulation.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Defense
172-174 Strovolos Avenue, 2048 Strovolos, Nicosia,
website: https://mod.gov.cy/
Telephone: 22 807500
Email: defence@mod.gov.cy
Department of Research and Innovation
Phones: 22 807755, 22 807754
Email: research.innovation@mod.gov.cy
(Publish Date: 30/09/2021-for internal use only)
EU Contact Point
European Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS)
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/defence-industry-and-space_en