The European defence industry submitted, by 22 November 2023, 236 proposals for joint defence R&D projects in response to the 2023 European Defence Fund (EDF) calls for proposals, reflecting all thematic priorities identified by the Member States.

On 16 May, 2024, the European Commission announced the results of the 2023 calls for proposals under the EuropeanDefence Fund (EDF) amounting to €1,031 million of EU funding to support 54 joint European defence research and development projects, with success rate about 20%.

Among them 3 projects with 4 Slovak partners were supported:

Project “CBRN SoS” – Enhancing cross border CBRN operational readiness and effectiveness through an overarching System of Systems approach, with the Slovak partner SEC Technologies, s.r.o. SEC Technologies is one of the top leading companies producing stand-off detection technologies. The project budget is more than 14 mil. EUR.

Project “AIDA” – Artificial Intelligence Deployable Agent, with the Slovak partner ALITER TECHNOLOGIES, A.S. This company provides integration, development and consulting services in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). They have four areas of expertise: Special Systems, Cyber Security, ICT & Cloud, Software Development.

Another Slovak partner is DECENT CYBERSECURITY S. R. O. with the specialisation in providing secure communication solutions for space mission operations and air and drone traffic management. Additionally, they focus on data management within decentralised ecosystems, leveraging the power of AI and blockchain. The project budget more than 32 mil. EUR.

Project “FMBTech” – Technologies for existing and Future MBTs, with the Slovak partner MSM LAND SYSTEMS s.r.o. with the specialisation in repairs of military tracked and wheeled vehicles for state security forces (the army, police, fire brigades and rescue services), modernization of military and special vehicles, the sale of spare parts and the production of mobile ISO 1C containers.The project budget more than 19 mil. EUR

The selected projects will support technological excellence across a wide range of defence capabilities in critical areas, including cyber defence, ground, air and naval combat, protection of space-based assets or Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defence. They will contribute to the EU’s capability priorities, like better situational awareness to ensure access to space, and to technologies for a future main battle tank.

More information here.

Published 22.5.2024,SLORD