EDF-EDIP-P-2026-FNLC-CPA-CDS

Counter-drone systems

Status
open for submission
Programme
European Defence Fund (EDF)
Action type
EDF Lump Sum Grants
Opens
30 Apr 2026
Deadline
13 Oct 2026
Fetched
15 Jul 2026, 07:18 UTC
Plain-language summary

EU call for common procurement of integrated counter-drone systems to enhance defence cooperation and stockpiles.

This call supports joint procurement of counter-drone systems among EU Member States and associated countries. It aims to strengthen cooperation, interoperability, and defence readiness. Projects should involve integrated systems or components to counter unmanned vehicles and be completed by end of 2033.

Likely relevant for

  • Defence industry companies
  • Procurement agencies in EU Member States
  • Consortia of defence technology providers
  • Organisations involved in counter-drone technology development

Project signals

Common procurement of integrated counter-drone systemsFocus on interoperability and stockpile replenishmentInvolvement of procurement agents like EDA or OCCAR

What it funds

  • Common procurement of integrated counter-drone systems or parts (sensors, kinetic/non-kinetic effectors, command and control)
  • Procurement actions at any lifecycle stage of defence products
  • Establishment and management of defence industrial readiness pools
  • Framework contracts for procurement with upgrade provisions

Expected outcomes

  • Strengthened cooperation and interoperability among Member States and associated countries
  • Replenishment and increase of counter-drone system stockpiles
  • Development and reinforcement of counter-drone solutions against evolving threats

Who can apply / participate

  • Legal entities from EU Member States and associated countries
  • Procurement authorities or agents
  • International organisations involved in defence procurement
  • Cooperation must be newly created or based on existing frameworks started after 5 March 2024
  • Binding agreements required among participating countries
  • Procurement agent must be appointed by participating countries
  • Eligible countries as described in call document section 6
  • Minimum procurement value of EUR 20 million
  • Actions must be common procurement of systems or parts thereof
  • Procurement contracts should allow quick upgrades
  • Specific list of eligible countries and entities must be verified in call document

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility of countries and entities per call document section 6
  • Compliance with minimum procurement value of EUR 20 million
  • Details on consortium formation and procurement agent appointment

Money

The call has an indicative budget of EUR 90 million for 2026, supporting lump sum grants for common procurement actions.

  • Indicative budget for 2026 — 90000000EUR
    Budget covers lump sum grants for common procurement of counter-drone systems

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission model. Proposals must comply with page limits and layout as per call documents.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as described in call document section 5 and application form Part B
  • Eligibility and admissibility conditions as per call document section 6
  • Financial and operational capacity requirements as per call document section 7
  • Evaluation criteria and award process detailed in call document section 8 and 9
  • Legal and financial setup governed by call document section 10
  • Prepare proposal following call document and application form templates
  • Submit proposal via Funding & Tenders Portal before deadline
  • Ensure binding agreements and procurement agent appointment are documented
  • Check eligibility of participants and countries carefully
  • Minimum procurement value of EUR 20 million must be met
  • Cooperation frameworks must comply with start date and completion conditions

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 14:27 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

Expected Impact: The results of the activities should contribute to support common procurement, leading to strengthening the cooperation among Member States and associated countries, as well as to greater interoperability. Furthermore, they should contribute to the replenishment of depleted stockpiles of counter-drone systems, to the increase of existing stockpiles or to establishment of defence industrial readiness pool, as well as to the development and reinforcement of counter-drone solutions as drones are being increasingly perceived as a pressing threat. Objective: This topic aims at actions supporting the common procurement of integrated systems (e.g. VSHORAD or SHORAD) or parts thereof (including sensors, kinetic or non-kinetic effectors - including direct energy weapons -, command and control solutions) to counter unmanned aerial, ground, surface or underwater vehicles, including those controlled remotely or operating autonomously using advanced software and sensors. Scope: Common procurement actions under this topic shall consist of activities related to the cooperation of legal entities in the procurement of integrated counter-drone systems or parts thereof, at any point in the life cycle of such defence products, including for the purpose of establishing, managing and maintaining defence industrial readiness pools. Procurements contracts are expected to include provisions allowing to upgrade quickly the counter-drone systems based on the evolving lessons identified from the battlefield. To achieve the expected impact, the estimated value of a common procurement proposed for actions under this topic shall be at least EUR 20 000 000 aiming to commonly procure defence products to fill the capability gaps and reinforce cooperation among Member States and associated countries. The procurement shall be based on a binding agreement to be signed by the participating Member States and associated countries with a procurement agent appointed by those Member States and associated countries. Such procurement agent may be contracting authorities of Member States or associated countries, the European Defence Agency (EDA), a Structure for European Armament Programme (SEAP) or other international organisation, including the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) or the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). The cooperation shall be newly created in the context of the application to the call topic or based on an existing SENSITIVE EN 4 EN framework, provided that the activities under such cooperation framework did not start before 5 March 2024 and have not been completed before the signature of the grant agreement. Eligible actions are common procurement of systems, parts thereof or variants of those. The common procurement can be organised as a framework contract. Actions shall be completed no later than 31 December 2033.

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 eligibility 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.

Support information

For help related to this call, please contact DEFIS-EDIP-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu Useful resources and documents , such as guidance and video tutorials on call contents and proposal preparation. 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
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