The European Commission has outlined plans for a €115 million pilot funding instrument called AGILE to speed up the development and testing of new defence technologies in the EU.
AGILE is intended to support small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups and scale-ups, working on areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and drones, the Commission informed on Thursday.
The Commission linked the proposal to lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying modern warfare is increasingly shaped by short “innovation cycles” in which new technologies and lower-cost solutions can be developed, tested and deployed in weeks or months rather than years.
Under the plan, AGILE would aim for a “time-to-grant” of four months — meaning the period between launching a call for applications and awarding funding — and for supported technologies to reach defence forces within one to three years.
AGILE would back between 20 and 30 projects and provide up to 100% funding for all eligible costs.
Companies would also be able to claim certain expenses incurred up to three months before the application deadline under a retroactive clause.
Proposed law and timetable
The programme would cover two main activity types — “mission-driven” development of disruptive defence products and technologies, and “market delivery” support to help defence solutions reach buyers — the Commission said.
A proposal for a new EU regulation to establish AGILE will be presented to the European Parliament and EU member states in the Council under the ordinary legislative procedure.
The instrument is expected to become operational from early 2027.
