Commission invests €910 million to boost European defence and close capability gaps

The Commission is investing €910 million under the 2024 edition of the European Defence Fund (EDF) to create a strong and innovative defence industry in Europe. These investments aim to close key capability gaps – like force mobility and drone defence – through innovation and collaboration across European science and industry. Moreover, and for the first time, Ukrainian defence industries can be associated to EDF projects.

The strengthened cooperation between the Ukrainian and European defence industries, builds on outreach efforts by the EU Defence Innovation Office in Kyiv to foster closer ties and to further integrate Ukraine into the European defence industrial base, reinforcing shared security and innovation objectives.

Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, said: “The selected proposals support the development of critical capabilities such as air and missile defence systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, which will enable European armed forces to respond to emerging threats and protect our citizens, whether it's through strengthening our collective defence or supporting our partners, like Ukraine, in their efforts to defend themselves against foreign aggression.”

The fourth edition of the EDF calls has seen unprecedented interest from the EU defence industry and research organisations. It has attracted a record-number of 299 proposals, bringing together 625 legal entities from 25 EU Member States or Norway. This highlights the growing appetite for pan-European cooperation and joint strategic defence capability development. SMEs play a vital role in selected proposals, accounting for over 38% of all participating entities and receiving more than 27% of the total EU funding requested. In the selected projects, over €360 million are assigned to 39 research projects and €539 million to 23 capability development projects.

You can find more information in a press release online.