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.

The objective of the Instrument is to foster the efficiency and competitiveness of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) to support the ramp-up of the production capacity and timely delivery of relevant defence products (groundto-ground and artillery ammunition as well as missiles) through industrial reinforcement.

Any eligible action as defined in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1525, that addresses primarily the obsolescence, testing or reconditioning certification in the area of artillery ammunition and that aims at supporting the timely delivery of artillery ammunition, with potential positive spill over effects on other ground-to-ground ammunition.

The grant will be a lump sum grant. This means that it will reimburse a fixed amount, based on a lump sum or financing not linked to costs. The amount will be fixed by the granting authority on the basis of the estimated project budget and a funding rate of up to 35% (up to 100% for additional sector costs for access to finance).

You can apply for a higher project funding rate (up to 45%) if your project is a ‘priority action’, i.e. concerns:

• new cross-border cooperation — a project creating a genuine new cross-border cooperation between entities established in Member States or ASAP associated countries, as described in Article 8(3)(b) ASAP Regulation; the new entity(ies) entering into the cooperation must have together a relevant role in the action (more than 10% of the total costs of the action)
• priority to common procurement — a project where the applicants commit to prioritise, for the duration of the action, orders stemming from the common procurement of relevant defence products (i.e. ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition as well as missiles) by at least three Member States or ASAP associated countries
• priority to procurement for Ukraine — a project where the applicants commit to prioritise, for the duration of the action, orders stemming from the procurement of relevant defence products (i.e. ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition as well as missiles) by at least one Member State which are intended for Ukraine
• SME/mid-cap action — a project where the majority (i.e. more than 50%) of beneficiaries participating in the consortium are SMEs or mid-caps established in Member States or ASAP associated countries.

• Other Services
• Public Administration
• Research, Technological Development and Innovation
• Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness

• Central Government
• Large Enterprises
• Legal Entities
• Private Bodies
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• State-owned Enterprises

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 (‘ASAP 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 nonassociated third-country entity (unless they can demonstrate that they have already been subject to a FDI screening and, where necessary, to mitigation measures or they can provide guarantees (see Annex) approved by the Member State or ASAP associated country where they are established).

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

European Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS): https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/defence-industry-and-space_en

For help related to this call, please contact:DEFIS-ASAP-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu

• Funding&Tenders
• Call document