New €115 million funding instrument from the Commission to develop new cutting-edge defence technologies in record time

The European Commission contiguous unveiled a caller €115 cardinal fiscal instrumentality aimed astatine processing cutting-edge defence technologies “in grounds time.”

The aviator instrument, called “AGILE,” is chiefly targeted astatine SMEs, start-ups, and fast-growing companies (scale-ups) operating successful the “new defence” sector. It volition enactment precocious technologies specified arsenic artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and drones.

According to the Commission, the warfare successful Ukraine has highlighted the request for importantly faster innovation cycles, enabling caller defence technologies to beryllium developed, tested, and deployed wrong weeks oregon months alternatively than years.

“The warfare successful Ukraine has shown that, to marque the European defence manufacture much competitive, we indispensable accelerate innovation,” said Commission Vice-President for Technology Henna Virkunen. “AGILE is our caller €115 cardinal backing instrumentality designed to instrumentality cutting-edge defence technologies from the laboratory to the tract astatine grounds speed.”

AGILE volition supply flexible, fast-track backing to businesses, with the extremity of reducing the clip from exertion to assistance support to conscionable 4 months. The programme besides aims to shorten the timeline—from backing to development, testing, and operational usage by European equipped forces—to betwixt 1 and 3 years.

It is expected to enactment 20 to 30 projects, covering up to 100% of eligible costs. The strategy besides allows for the retroactive inclusion of costs incurred up to 3 months anterior to the exertion deadline.

Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius noted that “around 70–80% of defence procurement successful EU countries—particularly those with the highest spending—is directed to the 10 largest contractors successful the industry.” He stressed the request for “more disruptive and cost-effective solutions for our equipped forces,” emphasizing that alongside high-tech projects, “we besides request solutions that are ‘good enough’ to alteration wide production.”

He added that, nether the AGILE program, “the Commission volition beryllium capable to o.k. grants ranging from €1 cardinal to €5 cardinal wrong 4 months—a velocity astir unimaginable for EU bureaucracy.”

The inaugural forms portion of the EU’s broader effort to fortify defence readiness, complementing existing instruments specified arsenic the European Defence Fund (EDF) and innovation programs similar EUDIS and HEDI.

The European Commission volition present taxable a legislative connection to the European Parliament and the Council, with the purpose of making AGILE operational by aboriginal 2027.