Innovative and future-oriented defence solutions

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

This category encourages the driving role of SMEs in bringing forward innovation, agility and ability to adapt technologies from civil to defence applications, to turn technology and research results into products in a fast and cost-efficient way.

The proposals must address innovative defence products, solutions and technologies, including those that can create a disruptive effect and improve readiness, deployability and sustainability of EU forces in all spectrum of tasks and missions, for example in terms of operations, equipment, basing, energy solutions, new surveillance systems.

The proposals could address any subject of interest for defence, such as, but not limited to, the following:

• Cybersecurity solutions for the protection of the future security and defence systems (e.g. command and control, logistics, embedded systems, distributed simulation);
• Future compounds/smart basing technologies development;
• Development of innovative methods or methodologies for comprehensive technical requirements setting such as concurrent design;
• Future Mine Counter Measures (MCM) capabilities operating autonomous underwater systems, coping with current capability gaps in securing Sea Lines of Communication;
• Integrated maritime surveillance system, combining legacy assets with new, innovative solutions;
• Portable bacteriological and chemical future detection systems;
• Future soldier CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) protection equipment and integration;
• Innovative intelligence tools for early warning and countermeasure deployment support to counter CBRN threats;
• Wearable orthosis equipment and exoskeletons to increase strength capabilities and minimize stress of future soldiers;
• Autonomous and remote-controlled unmanned systems for safe medical evacuation of injured soldiers during military operations;
• End-to-end solutions for artificial intelligence in defence & security key strategic issues;
• Command and control systems designated for individual soldier-squad up to brigade Command, post logistic information system for maintenance, transport, medical, management;
• Armoured medium and light vehicle;
• Tactical logistic trucks;
• Protected, cooled and connected shelter solutions for fixed and mobile command post for EU operations;
• Future effective and collective CBRN protection capacity to civil population, military and their equipment;
• Mobility support deployable solution for amphibious and airmobile (helicopter) operations;
• Innovative battery for future infantry portable system (radio set, optronic, etc.) and for weapon system (missile) ignition;
• Innovative solutions (bio-based) for fuel production from organic waste to support military operations and energy self-sufficiency in remote areas;
• Innovative passive systems (solar-tracking) systems for energy production based on renewable sources to support military operations in remote areas;
• Innovative software systems for processing of aerial images and videos through hyperspectral imaging (for metadata/telemetry information extraction and exploitation in C2 systems);
• Integrated management system for assets and services required in emergency situations in the framework of EU defence operations, in order to increase sustainability of EU forces;
• Nanomodified composite materials and related production processes and design procedures for reinforcement of existing armours of military vehicles including bonding test equipment;
• Development of a minefields mapping system using unmanned aircraft;
• High capacity communications for UAVs (Unmanned Air Vehicles) in beyond line-of-sight applications;
• Medical virtual reality training simulator;
• Unmanned semi-fixed sea platforms;
• Additive manufacturing enhancing the logistic performance by provide to military end-users possibilities to produce spare parts using additive manufacturing solutions, particularly in the context of overseas operations, including manufacturing methods, diagnostic equipment, surface treatment, residual stress modelling and analysing, cracks formation or chemical corrosion in metals and multimaterials bonds or connection;
• Development of a capability to collect and process operational and oceanographic data, in particular those coming from gliders;
• Development of counter-UAS (Unmanned Air System) capability based on mini-UAS swarms;
• Secure high capacity communications for UAVs in beyond line-of-sight applications;
• Augmented-reality combat helmet featuring night-vision and ally or enemy position display, including artificial intelligence functionalities;
• Intelligent, dynamic and robust control of the quality of service in hybrid satellite-terrestrial telecommunication networks;
• Enhancing maintenance, repair and operating equipment including metal improving techniques, non-destructive diagnostic methods for fixed wing or rotary wing aircrafts;
• Innovative composite materials and transparent displays for existing and next generation military armoured vehicles;
• Development of an innovative set of deployable, unattended and remotely controlled network of sensors for ISTAR (Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) mission on the battlefield;
• Hydropneumatics rotary suspension technology for high mobility tracked armoured vehicles;
• Camp 4.0 infrastructure, based on real time cloud and on-premise digital twin benefiting from blockchain technologies’ robustness, able to channel all currently optimized logistics needs, such as chain of spare parts, maintenance, energy consumables;
• Solutions based on artificial intelligence for standardization of the automatic steering and manoeuvring systems of vessels in a cost-effective manner;
• Photonics-based SIGINT (Signal intelligence) payload for class II RPAS (Remotely piloted aircraft systems);
• Easy-to-handle low-tech diagnostic kits for selected chemical and biological threat agents, providing sensitive and low false positive response to detect exposure to classes of chemical and biological threat agents;
• Innovative future-oriented communication capabilities such as, but not limited to, quantum communications or high-speed secure free space optical communication.

Targeted activities

The proposals must cover any single activity or combination of activities listed in Article 6(1) of the EDIDP regulation:

• Studies;
• Design;
• System prototyping;
• Testing;
• Qualification;
• Certification;
• Development of technologies or assets increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products and technologies.

Given the importance of time-to-market for SMEs, the proposals are expected to cover more than only studies or design.

• Innovative, rapid and cost-effective solutions for defence applications;
• Ground-breaking or novel concepts and approaches, new promising future technological improvements or the application of technologies or concepts previously not applied in the defence sector;
• Building innovation capacity across Europe by involvement of SMEs that can make a difference in the future;
• Potential for future market creation for SMEs.