Defense: Commission announces 1.07 billion euro investment, with a focus on drones, AI and anti-missile systems

Brussels – The European Commission is continuing its financial commitment to strengthen and integrate the EU defense sector beyond national borders. In a press release issued this morning (15 April), the Commission announced it was ready to invest 1.07 billion euros in 57 new projects under the European Defense Fund (EDF), the EU’s primary instrument for financing cooperation between industries and research institutes active in the military sector. For the entire seven-year period 2021–2027, the Fund has a total budget of 7.3 billion euros. 

The announcement from the Commission follows the completion of the evaluation process for the 2025 EDF calls for proposals. Of the 410 projects submitted (“a record number, representing a 37 percent increase on the previous year”, notes the EU executive), 57 have been selected: 32 relate to initiatives for the development of ready-to-use technologies, to which 675 million euros will be allocated; while the remaining 25 are more experimental research projects and will receive approximately 332 million euros. 

“The investments will support goals set out in the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 (the strategy presented by the European Commission last October to strengthen European military capabilities by 2030, ed.),” the Commission explains. In particular, the focus will be on the four flagship programs established by the EU “to ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of advanced defense technologies.”

These key initiatives are: the European Drone Defence Initiative (aimed at detecting and neutralizing potential hostile drones), the Eastern Flank Watch (a project designed to strengthen security along the eastern flank of the Old Continent), the European Air Shield (an air defense shield for military defence) and the European Space Shield (a system for the protection of European satellites). Among the most important programs, the Commission cites the AETHER project, which will develop propulsion and thermal management systems for these technologies, within the framework of the European Drone Defence Initiative.

“A deep integration of the Ukrainian defense industry with that of Europe is necessary,” Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius stressed from the podium of the Europa Forum just under a month ago. And some of the initiatives funded by the Commission are specifically aimed at capitalizing on Kyiv’s army battlefield experience, thereby advancing EU cooperation with the Ukrainian defense industry. One example is the STRATUS project dedicated to the creation of an AI defense system to counter swarms of drones, which will involve a Ukrainian subcontractor.

 Italy is also at the heart of some of the programs selected by Brussels: among the participants in the ANEMOS project, which focuses on developing an advanced military communication and data exchange system between air, naval, and land forces, is the Italian company Leonardo. Also involved in other initiatives are Fincantieri, Thales Alenia Space, the Milan Polytechnic, the Institute of International Affairs, and the Italian Space Agency. 

Attracting new talent and supporting start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are other key objectives of the EDF. To this end, the Commission has announced that some of the projects will launch “sub-calls” to fund new ideas with grants of up to 60,000  euros per company. “More than 21 percent of the total funding will go to SMEs, thereby enabling even organizations with no previous experience in the defense sector to enter the market,” according to the press release. 

The selection of projects announced today does not mean that funding has actually been granted. To ensure this happens, the Commission will now begin signing agreements with the consortia, aiming to finalize the paperwork and start disbursing funds by the end of the year.