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
The specific objective of this topic is to develop and assess, in a real environment, unmanned platforms and other new assets along with traditional platforms to manage efficiently anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and seabed warfare (SBW) operations to face current and future threats in the new security context.
The aim is to progress in the ASW and SBW with unmanned systems beyond a concept phase to develop and test models or prototypes of UxVs (UAVs, USVs, UUVs, and other unmanned systems) with payloads which will enable ASW and SBW missions.
Detailed Call Description
The proposals must address design, testing and prototyping activities through sea demonstrations of next-generation underwater warfare solutions.
The proposals should contribute to new ASW and SBW concepts and may leverage civil R&D results (synergies through spin-ins). The proposals should build on a System-of-Systems (SoS) approach that allows adaptations and additions beyond the proposed solution without manufacturer-specific restrictions. The proposals should consider collaborative ASW and SBW capabilities that are based on manned and unmanned assets, in a highly scalable and heterogeneous communication and information network with self-x-properties. Design and prototyping should include relevant simulations.
The areas concerned for development and improvement, and that must be addressed by the proposals are the following:
- new ASW and SBW concepts;
- detection, classification, identification, and tracking of underwater threats in demanding conditions (such as deep and very shallow waters, challenging seabed topography, and noisy environment);
- collaborative, all-node, all-payload, manned-unmanned teaming, including the necessary command, control (C2), and communication (C3);
- decision support for ASW and SBW operations and their enabling systems;
- enabling neutralisation of underwater threats.
Call Total Budget
Thematic Categories
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Justice - Security
- Other Thematic Category
- Public Administration
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
Applications will only be considered eligible if their content corresponds wholly (or at least in part) to the topic description for which it is submitted.
Eligible participants (eligible countries) – 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 nonassociated third-country entity (unless they can provide guarantees – see Annex 2 – approved by the Member State or EDF associated country where they are established).
Associated partners which are not established in one of the eligible countries (or which are subject to control by a non-associated third country or non-associated third-country entity) may however participate exceptionally if certain conditions are fulfilled (not contravene EU and MS security and defence interests; consistent with EDF objectives; results not subject to control or restriction by non-associated third countries or non-associated third-country entities; no unauthorised access to classified information; no potential negative effects over security of supply of inputs which are critical for the project), subject to agreement by the granting authority and without any funding under the grant.
Consortium composition – For all topics under this call, 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
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
EU Contact Point
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-EDF-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu