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
Efficient, robust, and secured underwater communication is a key enabler for maritime uncrewed systems (MUS), including the use of uncrewed underwater systems (UUS). There is a need for exchange of classified information in MUS. Identification, authentication and authorisation are important functionalities in the field of digital trusted gateways. Further research needs to be done to overcome the physical characteristics of the underwater environment that limits the possibility of having wireless communication systems with sufficient robustness and bandwidth required by many underwater warfare functions.
The specific objective is to design and demonstrate feasibility of secured (communications security COMSEC and transmission security TRANSEC) underwater (network) communication solutions (acoustic, optical, or other modalities) for UUSs designed for military needs.
Detailed Call Description
The proposals must address research of secure underwater communication, with focus on acoustic technologies, including networked solutions, that contribute to the improvement of current performance, through the creation of new low-distortion modulation techniques, interference avoidance/suppression mechanisms, recovery from fading, etc. This requires the communication to be highly adaptive and self-reconfigurable. To improve the performance of the acoustic underwater communication channel, the environmental conditions in situ, such as noise, depth, sound velocity profile, etc., must be considered.
Furthermore, research in underwater communication, with focus on optical technologies, must be addressed, with the aim of improving bandwidth and transmission distance, reducing signal distortion, in order to improve communication within and between platforms, networks and infrastructures. The security aspects should be included in the underwater communication systems. The challenging communication conditions (low data rate, long latency, delay and doppler spread effects, highly varying channel conditions and high noise levels, etc), which may result in unreliable and low-bandwidth communication links, also give special challenges for security mechanisms. This should be taken into account in the design of the complete communication system (modulations, network protocols, etc), carefully balancing modular/layered approaches and cross-layer approaches. During the design, performance metrics describing efficiency and robustness should always be assessed, to avoid that this gets too much compromised by the security measures. Also, encryption methods should be considered in order to obtain metrics about its efficiency.
Different encryption methods can be used depending on the mission state, data classification level, etc.
The suggested design solutions should be tested in a realistic environment in salt water.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Thematic Categories
- Justice - Security
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Shipping - Marine Transports
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Fishermen, Aquaculturists, Owners of Vessels
- Legal Entities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
- non-EU countries:
- listed EEA countries (‘EDF associated countries’, see list of participating countries)
- have their executive management structure established in eligible countries
- must not be subject to control by a non-associated third country or non-associated third-country entity (unless they can provide guarantees – see Annex 2 – approved by the Member State or EDF associated country where they are established).
Consortium composition
For all topics under this call, including EDF-2023-RA-DIS-LDEW, proposals must be submitted by:
minimum 3 independent applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Defense
Address: 172-174 Strovolos Avenue, 2048 Strovolos, Nicosia
Telephone: 22 807500
Email: defence@mod.gov.cy
Website: https://mod.gov.cy/
Department of Research and Innovation
Telephones: 22 807755, 22 807754
Email: research.innovation@mod.gov.cy
EU Contact Point
For help related to this call, please contact: DEFIS-EDF-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu