DEFRA 6th Call — Defence-Related Research
Funds Belgian defence-related innovation in critical technology sectors to strengthen real-world implementation.
⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The DEFRA 6th Call 2026 is Belgium's sixth Defence-Related Research Action, administered by the Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo) subject to Council of Ministers approval, with a total budget of €26 million distributed across ten research themes. The ten themes are: Resilient Propulsion Technologies for Strategic Autonomy (€2M), Cyber — Advanced Data Management and Intelligence Concepts (€3M), Innovative Solutions for Military Medical Logistics (€2M), Biomanufacturing (€2M), Smart Energy Management and Optimisation (€3M), Next Generation Sensing (€2M), Exploring and Integrating Unmanned Systems (€2M), Conflict Dynamics and Warning Intelligence (€2M), Communications Technology (€2M), and an Open Track for Defence Relevant Research (€6M). Projects must run between two and four years. Alongside the main ten-theme call, two named sub-strands were part of the same cycle: a Human Factors open call (€4M, focused on human integration in complex defence organisations) and a Space call (€16M, covering Earth Observation and Space Situational Awareness).
The call used a two-stage process: pre-proposals were due 19 February 2026 at 14:00, and results were communicated between 23 and 25 March 2026. Full proposals were due 4 May 2026 at 14:00. A maximum of five pre-proposals per themed track (themes 1–9) and ten for the open track advanced to full proposal stage. Peer review and ethical evaluation are scheduled for May–June 2026, with panel interviews between 22 June and 15 July 2026 (Space sub-strand timeline). Final selection is expected 10 September 2026, with results communicated 14 September 2026. The call is open to both public-sector and private-sector researchers.
As of the research date (May 2026), the 6th call is in active evaluation — full proposals have been submitted and the cycle is proceeding toward selection. The call is not accepting new submissions. Full proposal requirements included a data management plan, ethics self-assessment, budget file, and Gantt chart. Organisations interested in future DEFRA funding should monitor Belspo for announcement of a 7th call, which has not been scheduled as of mid-2026.
Belgian federal defence-related research across ten themes — resilient propulsion, cyber and data intelligence, military medical logistics, biomanufacturing, smart energy, next-generation sensing, unmanned systems, conflict dynamics, communications technology, and an open defence research track.
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