The European Commission has announced the results of the 2022 research and development projects under the European Defence Fund (EDF). VTT is involved in two projects that received a total of EUR 58 million from the EU. They will help to develop the EU’s defence capabilities in critical areas in the pan-European air defence and in space-based military intelligence. The projects are led by Airbus Defence and Space.
“The funding granted by the European Commission brings Europe together at this important time. It is of paramount importance for us to contribute to the promotion of both European and national security and stability. In practice, this means introducing special expertise in digital technologies to projects, especially in space-based technologies and technologies needed for a real-time situational awareness,” says Sauli Eloranta, Vice President of Safe and connected society at VTT.
Projects involving VTT focus on developing the EU’s defence capabilities in critical areas in air surveillance and military intelligence. The SPIDER project will continue to develop satellite constellations that will be used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). The SESIOP project will improve the interoperability of European civil and military air traffic management (ATM) systems and secure data transfer between them for recognised air picture.
The European Defence Fund is a new programme funded with the EU budget, and it was launched in 2021. The total budget of the fund for 2021–2027 is approximately EUR 8 billion. The aim is to increase the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the European defence industry and research community.
In the current round of funding, the European Defence Fund supports a total of 41 defence R&D projects in the EU. A total of EUR 832 million in EU funding was allocated to these projects.
Further information on the funding decision: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3481
