EUDIS (EU Defence Innovation Scheme)

EUDIS Non-Thematic SME Open Call

Backs defense innovation by small and medium-sized enterprises and research organizations across EU member states.

Eligibility · EU member states

The European Defence Fund (EDF) 2026 Work Programme, adopted by the European Commission on 17 December 2025, allocates €1 billion across 31 call topics for collaborative defence research and development. Within that envelope, the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) receives €231 million — 23 percent of the total EDF budget — with €60 million specifically earmarked for non-thematic SME open calls. Three non-thematic EUDIS call identifiers were opened on 14 April 2026: EDF-2026-LS-DIS-NT, EDF-2026-LS-DIS-RA-SMERO-NT, and EDF-2026-LS-DA-SME-NT (a parallel development action). All three carry a submission deadline of 28 September 2026 and use the Lump Sum (LS) instrument, which fixes the budget at award and removes the need for detailed post-award cost reporting.

Eligible applicants are small and medium-sized enterprises and research organisations established in EU Member States or Norway (the only EDF-associated country). Consortia must comprise at least three independent entities from three different eligible countries, though the EUDIS mandate targets SMEs as the primary beneficiaries. Research actions receive up to 100 percent of eligible costs; development actions are funded at 20–80 percent, with higher rates available when SME participation or Member State cooperation is demonstrated. Critically, these are non-thematic calls — applicants define their own defence technology area without being constrained to a pre-declared topic from the EDF side. Disruptive technologies calls allow reduced consortia of two entities from two countries.

Applicants submit through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal alongside the rest of the EDF 2026 programme. The EUDIS Business Accelerator and up to 15 days of business coaching are available to beneficiaries after award. Teams with deep experience in a specific defence technology domain — materials, AI, cyber, sensors, energy, robotics — who can articulate both technical originality and strategic European defence value are the strongest candidates. No matching funds are required for research actions; development-action applicants should model co-funding early.