Research actions in the form of a technological challenge implemented via lump sum grants

Home Funding Calls for proposals AI-based tactical situational awareness using swarms of small robots and drones – organisation of a technological challenge" AI-based tactical situational awareness using swarms of small robots and drones – organisation of a technological challenge" EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAO Topic Calls for proposals Internal navigation General information Topic description Topic updates Conditions and documents Budget overview Partner search announcements Start submission Topic Q&As Get support General information Programme European Defence Fund (EDF) Call Research actions in the form of a technological challenge implemented via lump sum grants (EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE) Type of action EDF-LS EDF Lump Sum Grants Type of MGA EDF Lump Sum Grant [EDF-AG-LS] Open For Submission Deadline model Single-stage Opening date 11 February 2026 Deadline date 29 September 2026 17:00:00 Brussels time Topic description Scope: The automatic analysis of tactical situations using fleets of robots, drones and AI is an important research topic that lacks standardised benchmarks and objective evaluation campaigns. This call topic aims to set up a testing environment and organise a technological challenge in which research teams will participate, supported by another topic (EDF-2024-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAP-STEP) and possibly other sources of funding. The testing environment should enable objective comparisons between different approaches. Data should be collected during field tests, annotated and shared to enable the validation of the system performances based on precise evaluation criteria and plans, to be provided as part of the call document. Targeted types of activities: Integrating knowledge, not excluding upstream and downstream activities eligible for research actions. Indicative budget: EUR 7 000 000 for this topic under the EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE call. Indicative number of proposals to be funded: One proposal is to be funded for this topic. Show more Topic updates 08 September 2026 New encryption possibility of the Part B and annexes through the DG DEFIS DEFEND-S SNC encrypt file service at https://defend-s-edf.defis.service.ec.europa.eu/defend/ . Or if you encrypt your file yourself you can send us the password through EUSurvey https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/EDF-2026PasswordSubmission. For more information see this QnA or the revised call documents. 10 August 2026 On 13 July 2026, the European Union and Ukraine signed the Association Agreement on the participation of Ukraine in the European Defence Fund (EDF). This Association Agreement will formally enter into force once the Parties have notified each other of the completion of their respective internal procedures necessary for that purpose. When the Association Agreement will enter into force, legal entities established in Ukraine will become eligible as beneficiaries and subcontractors involved in the actions supported by the EDF under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/697. In the meantime, Ukrainian legal entities may already apply and be considered as consortium members for the EDF Calls for proposals for 2026. For more information see QnA. 12 February 2026 The submission session is now available for: EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAO, EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAP-STEP Show more 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: Call document Application form templates Standard application form (EDF) — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System Detailed budget table (EDF LS RA) Participant information (EDF) List of infrastructure, facilities, assets and resources (EDF) Actual indirect cost methodology declaration (EDF) Ownership control declaration Ownership control guarantee PRS declaration (EDF) Model Grant Agreements (MGA) EDF, ASAP and EDIRPA Lump Sum MGA Additional documents: EDF Annual Work Programme EDF Regulation 2021/697 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 Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement Show more Budget overview Topic Budget year : 2026 Stages Opening date Deadline Contributions Indicative number of grants EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAO - EDF-LS EDF Lump Sum Grants EDF-2026-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-DIGIT-AISAP-STEP - EDF-LS EDF Lump Sum Grants 30 000 000,00 € Single-stage 11 February 2026 29 September 2026 Items per page: 10 50 100 Showing 1–1 of 1 Partner search announcements 65 Searches of partners to collaborate on this topic View / Edit LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into this Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile. Start submission Need help? To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point. To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section. Please select the type of your submission: EDF Lump Sum Grants [EDF-LS], EDF Lump Sum Grant [EDF-AG-LS] Start submission Topic Q&As67 item(s) found General FAQ Under EDF, is it possible to participate in the same call more than one time in different roles? Yes, it is possible to participate in the same call in more than one proposals, as long as the proposals are different. Which regime for joint and several liability for enforced recoveries in case of non-payment applies in EDF? The only liability regime for actions funded under the EDF is limited joint liability, as explained during the EDF Info days and the Coordinators Day. The call text also clearly dete... Under EDF, could a subsidiary based in EU/Norway but owned by a third country be an eligible participant? In EDF all applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must cumulatively be legal entities (public or private bodies) and be established in one of the EDF eligible countries, ... Under EDF, what is the maximum rate allowed for subcontracting costs? Subcontracting should be less than 30% of the total costs per beneficiary (strict limit for EDF-LS-RA-SMERO and EDF-LS-DA-SME calls). Please note also that certain tasks cannot be de... Under EDF, if a subcontractor is known by PIC only after the proposal submission (e.g during grant agreement (GA) preparation or once the GA is in place): what information about this subcontractor has to be provided to the Commission and when? If a subcontractor is known only after the proposal has been submitted, the consortium coordinator of a proposal selected for funding will have to provide the Commission with the sam... Under EDF, is the Public Regulated Service (PRS) declaration a mandatory, and which participants are concerned with it? The PRS declaration has to be provided by the applicants as part of their application file only if an access to Galileo PRS information is needed to carry out the proposed action. No... Under EDF, if I declare “no change” in the ownership control declaration template, what date and project reference should I put in? In the Ownership Control Declaration template the “last declaration/assessment” is indicated as being the date of request of supporting documents by the EU services for the previous ... Under EDF, when starting the online submission process, should I add subcontractors in step ‘Participants’? In the submission process, when you reach the step ‘Participants’, you are invited to indicate only the beneficiaries (referred to as ‘Partners’) and, if any, affiliated entities and... Under EDF, should third-tier subcontractors (entities subcontracted by other subcontractors) also fill in the Ownership Control Declaration (OCD)? An OCD is required for the subcontractor of a subcontractor if this entity requires access to classified information in order to carry out the action, or if they are allocated at lea... Under EDF, is it possible to participate if we are owned/controlled by a company outside EU? There is a possible derogation for non-EU/Norway controlled entities, through providing guarantees compliant with Art. 9(4) of the EDF Regulation, approved by the Member State where ... Under EDF, if specific raw materials required for prototype development or components for R&D phase are not available within EU, is it acceptable to procure them outside the EU? The use is acceptable if the results of the actions supported by the Fund are not subject to any control or restriction by a non-associated third country or by a non-associated third... Under EDF, how could I find partners for a consortium? The National Focal Points are individuals nominated by EU Member States and Norway that will support the implementation of the European Defence Fund. They are able to guide you to ma... Under EDF, as an entity established outside the EU and NO, do I need to provide the ownership and control declaration under the EDF calls? No, entities established outside the EU/NO do not need to fill in and provide the ownership and control declaration. However, due to the provisions of Article 9(1) of EDF Regulation,... Under EDF, what is the definition and requirements of a "subcontractor involved in the action"? How to distinguish it from a service supplier? Under the EDF, “subcontractors involved in the action” are defined by Article 9(8) of EDF Regulation as a specific category of “subcontractors with a direct contractual relationship ... Under EDF, are there specific security requirements for personnel working in EDF projects and could they be citizens of non-EU or associated countries? Inaccordance with Article 27 of EDF Regulation, each Member State shall ensure that it offers a degree of protection of EU classified information equivalent to that provided by the s... Under EDF, I have errors in the Detailed budget tables annex with some formulas indicating missing references. What shall I do? Please avoid using copy-paste or drag-and-drop functions within the Detailed Budget Tables, as this may result in broken formulas or missing references. If such errors occur, benefic... Under EDF, is the planned budget per topic flexible if the submitted proposals are requesting more than the indicative funding or if there are more than one proposal submitted? Proposals should always request EU support within the indicative budget as set out for the relevant call topic in the EDF annual Work Programme. In addition, some call topics impose ... I am a mac user. When filling in the EDF detailed budget table, I get an error during validation and…