High-end endo-atmospheric interception
Develop and demonstrate key technologies for endo-atmospheric interceptors to counter hypersonic and ballistic threats up to TRL 6.
This call funds development of advanced interceptor technologies to defend against hypersonic and ballistic missiles. It supports design, prototyping, and testing activities. One proposal will be funded with a budget of around EUR 100 million.
Likely relevant for
- Defence technology developers
- Aerospace and missile system engineers
- Research organizations in defence R&D
- Companies specializing in hypersonic and ballistic threat countermeasures
Project signals
What it funds
- Development of endo-atmospheric interceptor technologies against hypersonic and ballistic threats
- Maturation of key technologies to TRL 6
- Design, prototyping, and testing of demonstrators for airframe, propulsion, platform separation, lethality, threat tracking and acquisition
Expected outcomes
- Validated demonstrators of interceptor subsystems
- Technological advancement towards operational interceptor systems
- Contribution to STEP objectives in defence technologies
Who can apply / participate
- Defence industry companies
- Research organizations
- Consortia involving relevant stakeholders
- One proposal to be funded, consortium composition must comply with call document
- Eligible countries as per section 6 of call document
- Must comply with EDF Development Actions eligibility and conditions
- Specific consortium size and composition requirements
- Exact eligible countries list
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility criteria in section 6 of call document
- Consortium requirements and country eligibility
- Compliance with EDF Development Actions rules
Money
EUR 100 million allocated for this topic under EDF-2026-DA call, plus EUR 2 million for entrusted entity remuneration.
- Total indicative budget — 100000000EURFor development actions under this topic
- Remuneration for entrusted entity — 2000000EURSeparate from main budget
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per section 5 of call document and Part B of Application Form.
- Eligibility and admissibility conditions detailed in sections 6 and 7 of call document.
- Evaluation criteria and award process described in sections 8 and 9 of call document.
- Legal and financial setup in section 10 of call document.
- Call document and annexes including application templates and declarations available in Submission System.
- Prepare proposal following call document and application form guidelines.
- Submit proposal via Funding & Tenders Portal before deadline.
- Ensure compliance with eligibility and admissibility conditions.
- Follow evaluation and award procedures as described.
- Check eligibility criteria carefully before applying.
- Only one proposal will be funded for this topic.
- Budget and conditions subject to call document details.
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 7 Jul 2026, 12:11 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Scope: This topic aims to follow up and complement previous activities for the development of an endo-atmospheric interceptor by maturing key technologies required to successfully counter hypersonic and ballistic threats up to TRL 6. It should build on specific concept designs and advance the required technologies by developing dedicated demonstrators, e.g. for airframe, propulsion, platform separation, lethality, threat tracking and acquisition. This topic contributes to the STEP objectives as defined in the STEP Regulation in the target investment area of defence technologies. Management mode: Action implemented in indirect management by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation. Form of funding: Contribution Agreement. Entrusted tasks : Implementation of actual cost grants following a competitive call. Targeted types of activities: Studies, design, system prototyping and testing, not excluding upstream and downstream activities eligible for development actions. Indicative budget: EUR 100 000 000 for this topic under the EDF-2026-DA call and EUR 2 000 000 for the remuneration of the entrusted entity. Indicative number of proposals to be funded: One proposal is to be funded for this topic.
Conditions and documents
Conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in section 5 of the call document.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries
described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in section 10 of the call document.
Call document and annexes:
Application form templates
Standard application form (EDF) — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Detailed budget table (EDF DA)
List of infrastructure, facilities, assets and resources (EDF)
Cofinancing declaration (EDF DA, DA LS AND ASAP)
Actual indirect cost methodology declaration (EDF)
Harmonised capability declaration (EDF DA AND DA LS)
Declaration on procurement intent and common specifications (EDF DA AND DA LS)
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Additional documents:
EDF Programme Security Instruction (PSI)
Guidelines on FSTP implementation - WP2026
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support information
For help related to this call, please contact DEFIS-EDF-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals . IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on your ongoing project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes.
Raw budget overview
{
"budgetYearsColumns": [
"2026"
],
"budgetTopicActionMap": {
"113600": [
{
"action": "EDF-2026-DA-ACC-AIRDEF-EATMI - EDF-DA EDF Development Actions",
"expectedGrants": 0,
"minContribution": 0,
"maxContribution": 0,
"budgetYearMap": {
"2026": "100000000"
},
"plannedOpeningDate": "2026-02-11",
"deadlineModel": "single-stage",
"deadlineDates": [
"2026-09-29"
]
}
]
}
}