European Defence Fund (EDF)

EDF incentivises and supports collaborative, cross-border research and development in defence. It fosters competitiveness, innovation, and contributes to the EU's strategic autonomy. By complementing and amplifying Member States' efforts, EDF promotes cooperation among industry and research actors of all sizes and geographic origin in the EU.

The Fund triggers cooperative programmes that would not happen without an EU contribution.

The European Commission establishes the EDF work programmes and the indicative multi-annual perspective with the support of the Programme Committee, where the Member States sit as members with voting rights. The European Defence Agency (EDA) is invited to provide its views and expertise to the Committee as an observer, as is the European External Action Service.

Implementation

EDF actions are implemented under direct management by the European Commission (EDF Regulation (EU) 2021/697 - Art.8).

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has a role of an implementing entity for the indirect management of EDF projects. This means that the European Commission entrusts the Agency with several EDF projects.

Through a Contribution Agreement between the European Commission (Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space - DG DEFIS) and EDA, The Agency acts as a granting authority for the implementation of EDF projects and is responsible for:

Preparing and signing Grant Agreements
Monitoring Grant Agreement implementation, including the management of the amendments and the approval of reports and deliverables
Processing payments to project coordinators Reporting to the European Commission (DG DEFIS)

From the 2023 EDF Work Programme onwards, the projects entrusted to EDA fall under the innovation-focused categories, mainly targeting SMEs and research organisations. The categories include:

non-thematic medium scale Research & Development (R&D) SMEs calls,
non-thematic research calls (including one dedicated to disruptive technologies),
the European Union Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) - dedicated call to mature solutions within cross-border defence innovation networks.

By managing innovation-focused projects, EDA enhances synergies between EUDIS and the Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI) and facilitates the uptake of results into capabilities through the EDA channels. This builds on the Agency’s role in capability-driven innovation and its experience in engaging with non-traditional players to facilitate their progressive integration into the defence ecosystem.

Under EDF 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, the the Agency is managing 42 EDF projects with a budget of over €300 million.

In June 2025, EDA and the European Commission (DG DEFIS) signed a Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) which establishes the general conditions of a long-term cooperation between the two organisations on the indirect management of EDF projects entrusted to EDA. The FFPA offers predictability and ensures stable resources for EDA throughout the current Multiannual Financial Framework.