Great-depth enabling technologies

The European Defence Fund (EDF) has issued a grant opportunity titled "EDF-2025-LS-RA-DIS-GDET," focusing on advancing disruptive technologies for defence specifically in the context of seabed warfare (SBW). This call aims to enhance detection, reaction, and protection capabilities against underwater threats critical to EU infrastructure.

Eligible applicants include small and medium-sized enterprises, research organizations, and other legal entities established in EU Member States or Norway. Applicants must form consortia with at least two independent entities from different Member States or Norway, emphasizing international collaboration.

The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, covering up to 100% of eligible costs. For this call, a total budget of €43 million is allocated, with €23 million designated for the "Great-depth enabling technologies" topic and €20 million for "Nature Technologies." The grant application process is a single-stage open call with a submission deadline on October 16, 2025.

The targeted sector is defence technology, particularly focusing on capabilities relevant to SBW, which includes underwater critical infrastructure protection, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), and advanced detection and communication systems. The expected maturity level for proposed projects should aim for Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5, indicating readiness for validation in a relevant environment.

Mandatory activities under the grant include generating knowledge through simulations, exploring sensor technologies, and conducting feasibility studies relating to underwater threats. Proposals must justify the relevance of their technologies and identify potential defence applications, addressing the need for comprehensive protective measures for underwater infrastructure.

Overall, this grant aims to foster innovative defence capabilities in response to geopolitical challenges, encouraging collaborative projects that develop advanced technologies for safeguarding critical underwater environments. Applicants are advised to refer to the call document for comprehensive details on eligibility, evaluations, and submission requirements.

This is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF), specifically targeting research actions for disruptive technologies in defence, with a focus on great-depth enabling technologies for Seabed Warfare (SBW). The call, titled "Great-depth enabling technologies," aims to improve detection and reaction capabilities in SBW scenarios, enhance EU technological autonomy for critical seabed infrastructure protection, and improve the design of integrated defence systems for deep-water SBW scenarios.

The call is structured as a single-stage submission process with a deadline of October 16, 2025. The opening date for submissions is February 18, 2025. The total budget allocated to this topic is 23,000,000 EUR for EDF-2025-LS-RA-DIS-GDET and 20,000,000 EUR for EDF-2025-LS-RA-DIS-NT, both being EDF Lump Sum Grants.

The scope of the call involves progressing in undersea operations in deep waters up to 6000 meters, including a concept phase to study and evaluate technologies for platforms and payloads. These technologies should enable unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), detection systems, warning systems, communication systems, and weapon systems to perform deep-water undersea missions. Proposals must identify defence use cases and justify the relevance of the proposed technologies, considering the wider landscape of potential solutions and deployment costs. A layered defensive depth must be formed, and critical areas for monitoring and protection of undersea infrastructure must be identified. Proposals are expected to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5.

Eligible activities include:

Activities that aim to create, underpin, and improve knowledge, products, and technologies, including disruptive technologies, which can achieve significant effects in the area of defence (generating knowledge) Yes (mandatory)

Activities that aim to increase interoperability and resilience, including secured production and exchange of data, to master critical defence technologies, to strengthen the security of supply or to enable the effective exploitation of results for defence products and technologies (integrating knowledge) Yes (optional)

Studies, such as feasibility studies to explore the feasibility of new or upgraded products, technologies, processes, services and solutions Yes (mandatory)

Design of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology as well as the definition of the technical specifications on which such design has been developed, including partial tests for risk reduction in an industrial or representative environment Yes (optional)

System prototyping of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology No

Testing of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology No

Qualification of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology No

Certification of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology No

Development of technologies or assets increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products and technologies No

Mandatory activities include generating knowledge through numeric models and simulations, investigating next-generation sensor technologies, generating knowledge of multi-layered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, investigating intelligent underwater sensor systems, and generating knowledge of neutralisation solutions for emerging underwater threats. Also mandatory are studies to explore new technologies for SBW, feasibility studies to evaluate technologies for deep water operations, methods and technologies for deep water launch and recovery, methods and technologies of exploiting underwater surveillance assets, and study of the dynamics of underwater explosion.

Additional tasks that proposals should cover include integrating knowledge related to energy storage and generation, use of critical infrastructure self-diagnostics, and enriching underwater situational awareness. Proposals may also cover generating knowledge by exploring and integrating state-of-the-art acoustic and non-acoustic sensors and conducting rigorous simulation and field testing in diverse deep-water environments.

Functional requirements for proposed products and technologies include marinisation and miniaturisation of critical components, autonomous accurate underwater navigation, materials and solutions for underwater persistency, and enhanced underwater communication in deep waters.

The call emphasizes the need for synergies and complementarity with other activities in underwater warfare, particularly those described in the call topic EDF-2023-DA-UWW-ASW on Unmanned Anti-Submarine and Seabed Warfare.

Applicants are directed to the call document and annexes for detailed information on admissibility conditions, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, evaluation and award processes, and legal and financial setup. The application form, budget table, participant information, and other relevant documents are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

In summary, this EDF call seeks research proposals focused on developing and evaluating technologies for deep-water Seabed Warfare, aiming to enhance the EU's defence capabilities and protect critical underwater infrastructure. It encourages collaborative projects that can deliver innovative solutions for monitoring, defending, and responding to threats in deep-water environments. The call emphasizes the importance of reaching TRL 5 and substantiating synergies with existing underwater warfare activities.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call targets a broad range of entities, including but not limited to startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, and research institutes, provided they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the call document. The focus is on entities capable of contributing to defence research and technology development.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically an EDF Lump Sum Grant (EDF-LS). This means funding is provided as a fixed amount, not directly linked to actual costs incurred, but based on achieving agreed-upon objectives and milestones.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated as mandatory, the nature of the research and development activities suggests that a consortium approach is highly encouraged, if not implicitly required, to bring together diverse expertise and resources. The call emphasizes international cooperation and interoperability, which are often facilitated through consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on EU Member States and potentially associated countries participating in the European Defence Fund (EDF). The specific eligible countries are detailed in section 6 of the call document. Entities established in non-associated third countries are generally not eligible, although there may be derogations under specific conditions.

Target Sector: The program targets the defence sector, specifically focusing on technologies and capabilities related to: Seabed Warfare (SBW), Underwater critical infrastructure protection, Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), Detection systems, Warning systems, Communication systems, Weapon systems, Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), Sensor technologies, Energy storage and generation for underwater applications, Autonomous navigation algorithms.

Mentioned Countries: The call explicitly mentions Europe, EU Member States, and Norway. It also indirectly refers to NATO member states through the mention of NATO initiatives. Ukraine is mentioned in the Q&A section as not being eligible as a beneficiary.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of projects for this opportunity is at the research and development stage, with proposals expected to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5. This implies that the projects should be beyond basic research and ready for technology validation in a relevant environment.

Funding Amount: The call provides budget information for two topics: EDF-2025-LS-RA-DIS-GDET with a budget of 23,000,000 EUR and EDF-2025-LS-RA-DIS-NT with a budget of 20,000,000 EUR. These are lump sum grants.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This European Defence Fund (EDF) call focuses on "Great-depth enabling technologies" for Seabed Warfare (SBW). It addresses the increasing vulnerability of underwater infrastructure due to geopolitical instability and sabotage. The call aims to fund research and development projects that can improve the detection, reaction, and protection capabilities related to underwater threats in deep waters (up to 6000 meters).

The call encourages the development of innovative technologies for platforms and payloads, including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), detection systems, communication systems, and weapon systems. Proposals should identify defence use cases, justify the relevance of proposed technologies, and consider the wider landscape of potential solutions and deployment costs.

Eligible activities include generating knowledge through numeric models and simulations, investigating sensor technologies, studying multi-layered ISR, and exploring neutralisation solutions for underwater threats. Feasibility studies, design activities, and integration of knowledge related to energy storage, self-diagnostics, and data fusion are also encouraged.

The call is structured as a single-stage lump sum grant, with a submission deadline of October 16, 2025. The total budget allocated to the call is 43,000,000 EUR, split between two topics. The call is open to a wide range of entities from EU Member States and associated countries, with a focus on international cooperation and interoperability. The expected outcome is to improve EU technological autonomy in critical seabed infrastructure protection and enhance the design of integrated defence systems for SBW scenarios.