Complementing and amplifying Member States’ efforts, the Fund promotes cooperation among companies and research actors of all sizes and geographic origin in the EU. In doing so, it will integrate further the European defence technological and industrial base, develop industrial skills and competencies as well as the innovation potential of Europe’s industry
The European Defence Fund is a key enabler for a more secure and competitive Europe
- by supporting innovative technologies and enhancing the competitiveness of the European defence technological and industrial base, Member States will get state-of-the-art equipment meeting their defence needs.
- by pooling resources and defragmenting the EU defence industrial market, Member States will get better value for their investments and develop technologies and equipment that would be out of reach working independently.
- offering support all along the research and development parts of the lifecycle to make sure that the results of research are not lost due to the lack of funding for developing prototypes and testing the technology
Projects will be defined along priorities set with Member States aiming at contributing to the security and defence interests of the Union, in line with defence capability priorities agreed by Member States within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy and particularly in the context of the Capability Development Plan, and taking into account, where appropriate, priorities from other regional and international organisations (e.g. NATO).
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) is the National Focal Point (NFP) for the European Defence Programme.