Improved cyber defence operations capabilities

The EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP grant aims to enhance cyber defense operations capabilities within the European Union and associated countries through collaborative research and development projects. It requires proposals to develop advanced solutions for automating military cyberspace operations, addressing various operational challenges, and integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, and cloud computing.

Eligible applicants must form consortia that include at least three entities from EU Member States or associated countries like Norway. This includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, research organizations, public entities, and larger enterprises with relevant capabilities in the defense and cybersecurity sectors.

The funding mechanism involves actual cost grants, with a budget of EUR 34,000,000 allocated for this specific call. The funding is at a 100% rate, meaning no co-funding is required, and there are no co-financing obligations, which allows full financial support for awarded projects. The project duration must not exceed 24 months.

The application process is a single-stage open call, with proposals due by October 16, 2025. Applicants must demonstrate synergies with existing national and EU initiatives and provide a variety of documentation, including a standard application form, detailed budget, participant information, and declarations on several aspects related to project involvement and intent.

Funding will support activities like studies, design, and prototyping related to cyber defense, with potential optional activities including testing. Key focus areas include cyber force multiplication, command augmentation, and the coordination of both kinetic and cyber exercises, all while ensuring interoperability with EU and NATO systems.

This grant opportunity is specifically targeted towards improving the EU's cyber defense capabilities, with an emphasis on innovation and technological integration to strengthen its defense posture against cyber threats.

This is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF) for development actions related to improved cyber defence operations capabilities. The call, designated as EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP, seeks to develop state-of-the-art solutions for EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries to operate and automate military cyberspace operations in a distributed manner. The goal is to enhance the integration of cyberspace into military operational domains, addressing challenges and exploring distributed decision-centric warfare possibilities.

The call aims to consolidate national and EU initiatives, integrating emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, cloud computing, data fusion, and simulation for serious wargaming. Proposals should cover areas such as cyber force multiplication, cyber command augmentation, and self-adaptive protection.

Eligible activities include integrating knowledge, conducting studies, designing defence products, and system prototyping. Mandatory activities involve studies and design of solutions for cyber force distribution and mission planning, as well as system prototyping with stakeholder involvement. Optional activities include testing with large-scale demonstrators. The project duration should not exceed 24 months.

Proposals must demonstrate synergies with existing activities at national, multinational, or EU level, including specific projects like EDIDP-CSAMN-SSC-2019, EDF-2022-DA-C4ISR-EC2, EDF-2021-CYBER-R-CDAI, and EDF-2023-DA-CYBER-CSA. Interoperability with EU, NATO, and national systems is essential.

Functional requirements include orchestration of distributed cyber actions, decentralized battlespace management, mechanisms for tracking cyber activities, shared cyber situational awareness, cyber defence function disaggregation, analysis of action patches, transparent AI algorithms, and flexible solution configurations.

The call opens on 18 February 2025, with a deadline of 16 October 2025. The budget for the EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP topic is 34,000,000 EUR.

Required documents include the call document, standard application form, detailed budget table, participant information, list of infrastructure, cofinancing declaration, actual indirect cost methodology declaration, harmonised capability declaration, declaration on procurement intent, ownership control declaration, PRS declaration, and model grant agreements.

This opportunity is about improving the EU's cyber defence capabilities by developing advanced solutions for military cyberspace operations. It focuses on automation, distribution, and integration of new technologies to enhance cyber force effectiveness and interoperability. The call encourages collaborative efforts among EU Member States and associated countries to create a stronger and more resilient cyber defence posture. Successful projects will contribute to a technologically independent European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) and enhance the EU's ability to protect its mission networks from cyber threats.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but it can be inferred that the opportunity is targeted towards entities from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries defence community, including those capable of conducting studies, design, system prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification of defence products and technologies. This suggests that eligible applicants could include startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other organizations with relevant capabilities in the defence and cybersecurity sectors.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically "Development actions implemented via actual cost grants (EDF-2025-DA)" and "EDF Action Grant Budget-Based [EDF-AG]".

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium, as it mentions "Proposals should substantiate synergies and complementarity with foreseen, ongoing or completed activities at national, multinational, or EU level".

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.

Target Sector: The program targets the defence and cybersecurity sectors, specifically focusing on military cyberspace operations, cyber defence capabilities, and cyber situational awareness. It also mentions deep and digital technologies.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States, EDF Associated Countries, Norway, Ukraine (mentioned as not eligible).

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project includes multiple stages: studies, design, system prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification. The mandatory activities focus on studies, design, and system prototyping, while testing, qualification, and certification are optional.

Funding Amount: The funding range is variable, with the call EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP having a budget of EUR 34,000,000. Other calls listed have budgets ranging from EUR 25,000,000 to EUR 79,000,000.

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 grant to support their projects.

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: Co-financing may be required, as a "Cofinancing declaration (EDF DA, DA LS AND ASAP)" is listed under "Call document and annexes".

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF) aimed at improving cyber defence operations capabilities within EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. The call, specifically EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP, seeks to develop state-of-the-art solutions that automate military cyberspace operations in a distributed manner, including the synchronization of kinetic and cyber exercises. The call emphasizes the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed sensor networks, cloud computing, and data fusion.

Eligible applicants should form a consortium and can include startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, and research institutes from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. The funding mechanism is a grant, with a budget of EUR 34,000,000 allocated to the EDF-2025-DA-CYBER-CDOC-STEP call. The project duration should not exceed 24 months.

The scope of the call includes cyber force multiplication, cyber command augmentation, and self-adaptive protection. Mandatory activities involve studies, design, and system prototyping, while testing, qualification, and certification are optional. Proposals should demonstrate synergies with existing national and EU initiatives and ensure interoperability with EU, NATO, and national systems. The call also outlines functional requirements related to orchestration, decentralised battlespace management, tracking of cyber activities, shared cyber situational awareness, cyber defence function disaggregation, and transparent AI algorithms.

The application process is a single-stage submission, with the deadline for submissions on 16 October 2025. Applicants are required to submit various documents, including a standard application form, detailed budget table, participant information, and declarations related to co-financing, indirect costs, harmonised capability, procurement intent, ownership control, and PRS.