Risk, robustness and resilience for autonomous vehicles in military operations

The European Defence Fund (EDF) is offering a grant entitled "Risk, robustness and resilience for autonomous vehicles in military operations," specifically under the call number EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI-CYBER-3RAV-STEP. This initiative aims to bolster the cybersecurity and resilience of unmanned vehicles (UxVs) used in military operations, which include drones and autonomous ground or underwater vehicles. The key focus areas include developing security controls that enable UxVs to autonomously complete missions even amid cyber threats, emphasizing a concept known as autonomous cyber defense.

Eligible applicants include consortia of legal entities from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. Specific attention is given to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and research organizations. While a consortium is highly encouraged for these proposals, the exact requirement may vary, although previous involvement in EU-funded projects is not mandatory. The geographic scope extends to EU Member States and Associated Countries, without specifying individual nations.

The funding type is a non-repayable lump sum grant, with a total budget of €20 million allocated for this particular call. Each project can request funding up to €4 million, with an anticipated range per project retreating between €1 million to €5 million. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline set for October 16, 2025.

The call explicitly invites applications focusing on research and development activities that contribute to enhancing UxV capabilities. Eligible activities include generating and integrating knowledge, conducting feasibility studies, and designing defense products. However, activities such as system prototyping, testing, and certification are not eligible.

Co-funding appears to be a requirement, as applicants must demonstrate the financial capacity to support their projects. The overall competitiveness of EDF grants is expected to yield success rates between 10 and 39%, although exact figures are not disclosed.

The primary intent of this call is to strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) by fostering collaborative research that amplifies the technological independence and advancements in the cybersecurity domain for defense. This is crucial as UxVs evolve and their reliance on autonomous capabilities increases.

The applications must align with ethical and legal standards while addressing the complexities associated with autonomous systems. The overarching goal is to facilitate innovative solutions that ensure mission continuity and safety amid cyber challenges, ultimately contributing to a robust and secure European defense landscape.

This is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF) focusing on risk, robustness, and resilience for autonomous vehicles in military operations, specifically addressing the topic EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI-CYBER-3RAV-STEP. The call aims to enhance the security and resilience of unmanned vehicles (UxVs) such as drones, ground vehicles, and surface/underwater vessels in military operations by designing appropriate security controls and automating the analysis process. The call contributes to the STEP objectives, focusing on deep and digital technologies.

The main objective is to develop capabilities to identify and evaluate trade-offs between data protection, cybersecurity, and assured autonomy for UxVs. This includes enabling UxVs to react resiliently and complete missions autonomously even in the presence of cyber-attacks, a concept referred to as autonomous cyber defence. This involves monitoring, detecting, reacting, and reconfiguring the UxV systems. A key component is a "risk-evaluation engine" that generates risk-based courses of action, considering mission goals, confidential information, and the safety of the UxV and its surroundings.

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 (mandatory)

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 (mandatory)

System prototyping of a defence product, tangible or intangible component or technology (prototype) 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: Develop suitable military scenarios, attack modelling, catalogues of assets and security controls.

Integrating knowledge: Develop or enhance simulation environments (digital twins), preventive security measures, monitoring and detection capabilities, and capabilities to understand and contextualise incidents.

Studies: Address ethical and legal considerations and understand the effect and limitation of preventive security measures.

Design: Implement a proof of concept of autonomous cyber defence and test it in realistic military scenarios.

Functional requirements include improving robustness and resilience of UxVs against cyber threats and improving knowledge of the effects and limitations of security measures.

The call is a single-stage process with a deadline of 16 October 2025. The total budget for the EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI-CYBER-3RAV-STEP topic is 20,000,000 EUR. The opening date for submissions is 18 February 2025.

Applicants must adhere to admissibility conditions regarding proposal page limits and layout, eligibility of countries, and financial and operational capacity. The evaluation process includes submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring and thresholds, and an indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement.

Relevant documents include the call document, application form templates (Standard application form, Detailed budget table, Participant information, List of infrastructure, facilities, assets and resources, Actual indirect cost methodology declaration, Ownership control declaration, PRS declaration), Model Grant Agreements, EDF Annual Work Programme, EDF Regulation 2021/697, EDF Programme Security Instruction, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

This funding opportunity seeks to bolster the cyber resilience of unmanned vehicles used in military operations. It calls for projects that can develop and implement autonomous cyber defence mechanisms, including risk assessment engines and adaptive security measures. The goal is to enable these vehicles to withstand and respond to cyber-attacks, ensuring mission continuity and safety. The European Defence Fund is providing substantial funding to support research, development, and design activities that will contribute to a more secure and technologically advanced European defence landscape. The focus is on creating solutions that are not only effective but also ethically and legally sound, paving the way for the responsible deployment of autonomous systems in defence applications.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to a variety of entities, including those from the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB), EU Member States, and EDF Associated Countries. The specific types of eligible applicants are further detailed in section 6 of the call document, which needs to be consulted for a comprehensive understanding of eligibility criteria.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an EDF Lump Sum Grant (EDF-LS).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to favor collaborative projects, as indicated by the encouragement of cooperative efforts and the possibility to search for partners. While not explicitly stated as a requirement, a consortium is implied.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility extends to EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. Further details are provided in section 6 of the call document.

Target Sector: The program targets the defense sector, with a focus on cybersecurity, unmanned vehicles (UxV), autonomous systems, and deep and digital technologies. Specific areas include:
Cybersecurity penetration testing and automatization.
Security posture testing of operational computer networks.
Emulation of threat agents during training, exercises, and system tests.
Autonomous cyber defence for UxVs, including monitoring, detecting, reacting, and reconfiguring capabilities.
Risk evaluation engines for UxV protection.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States, Norway, and Ukraine (though Ukrainian entities have limitations).

Project Stage: The project stage encompasses a range of activities from generating knowledge and integrating knowledge to studies and design, including proof of concept implementation and testing in realistic military operational scenarios. It leans towards research, development, and demonstration, but excludes system prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification of defense products.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI-CYBER-3RAV-STEP is EUR 20,000,000.

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 lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is not specified, so the success rate cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-financing is not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Summary:

This European Defence Fund (EDF) call, titled "Risk, robustness and resilience for autonomous vehicles in military operations," aims to enhance the cybersecurity and autonomous capabilities of unmanned vehicles (UxVs) in military operations. The call, identified as EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI-CYBER-3RAV-STEP, is part of the EDF research actions implemented via lump sum grants (EDF-2025-LS-RA-SI). It seeks to foster a stronger, more competitive, and technologically independent European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) in cybersecurity solutions for defense.

The call focuses on designing and implementing security controls for UxVs, addressing the challenges arising from their cyber-physical nature and the increasing reliance on autonomous capabilities. Projects should develop solutions for autonomous cyber defence, including monitoring, detecting, reacting, and reconfiguring capabilities, as well as risk evaluation engines to protect UxVs against cyber-attacks.

Eligible activities include creating knowledge, integrating knowledge, conducting studies, and designing defense products. System prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification are not eligible. The call encourages the development of military scenarios, attack modelling, catalogues of assets and security controls, and simulation environments for testing defensive measures.

The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with a total budget of EUR 20,000,000 for the topic. The call is open to entities from EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries, with a submission deadline of October 16, 2025. The application process involves a single stage, and applicants are encouraged to form consortia and leverage the EU Policy on Cyber Defence (EPCD). The call contributes to the STEP objectives and targets deep and digital technologies.