All items · UAS & autonomy

Early market engagement by Forsvarsmateriell on a modular underwater surveillance capability, before requirements are frozen and no incumbent is named. Relevant to VDS/towed-array sonar makers, UUV integrators and underwater acoustic processing SMEs able to respond to a Norwegian RFI. Do: Submit an RFI response to Forsvarsmateriell via the TED notice contact/Mercell portal with your VDS and underwater acoustic processing capability sheet to shape the P1140 requirements.

The capital is concentrating in drone/autonomy scale-ups that are also winning government contracts — for suppliers, these companies are now buyers; for founders, they are the comparables investors will use.

The Netherlands runs fast, small challenge-based buys — good first-customer territory for C-UAS and autonomy start-ups; MIND publishes challenges on defensie.nl.

Money is flowing through Ukrainian-led procurement rather than EU tenders, with ~€6 billion for drones alone and follow-on tranches for munitions and air defence — the buyer is Ukraine's MoD/defence industry, not DG DEFIS. Drone, loitering-munition, C-UAS and air-defence suppliers able to partner with or supply components to Ukrainian manufacturers should position now. Do: Build a partnership or component-supply route into Ukrainian drone and munitions manufacturers (and monitor Ukrainian MoD/Defence Procurement Agency contracting) to capture spend under the upcoming ammunition, missile and air-defence tranches.

UK demand is large but the UK is outside SAFE and EDF — for EU companies it is a separate sales motion via UKDI/DASA competitions and UK primes; watch the UKDI/DASA GOV.UK collection for the next open-call cycle.

MOD is actively paying to widen the PYRAMID-compliant supplier base, with relevance flagged to GCAP and US FACE interoperability — an architecture gate for anyone selling air-system software or subsystems to the UK. Autonomy stack, mission-system and avionics software vendors should note the named winners now form the reference supplier base. Do: Track UKDI's funding pipeline for a PYRAMID Phase 3 and, meanwhile, contact the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office PYRAMID team (Mike Lane) or Frazer-Nash about PRA-compliance work for your air-system software.

Confirms Tekever's continued incumbency with Portuguese maritime/security authorities on UAS procurement funded via EU internal security funds; other UAS makers should note the recurring national buyer and funding stream rather than bid on this closed contract.

This is the top-level Swiss demand signal that will drive armasuisse procurement for the next decade, with drones, C-UAS, EW and cyber explicitly named as priority spend and a 2028 drone battalion as a concrete near-term buyer. Relevant to Swiss-based (or Swiss-subsidiary) UAS, C-UAS, EW and cyber firms and start-ups, given the 60% domestic procurement target. Do: Read the published Rüstungsplanung (status May 2026) to map your product to named projects and approach armasuisse / the Kommando Cyber und elektromagnetischer Raum plus the drone-battalion build-up team now, while monitoring simap.ch for related tenders.

Signals a growing, ring-fenced Swiss defence R&D pot and a forthcoming armasuisse–Innosuisse Flagship call — the main funded entry point for Swiss dual-use tech firms outside EDF/EDIP. Relevant to Swiss-based drone, robotics, AI and sensor developers and to ETH-linked spin-offs planning consortium projects. Do: Track the Innosuisse Flagship Initiative page and contact armasuisse Wissenschaft und Technologie (W+T) / the Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre now to position a project idea before the joint call opens.

A low-cost visibility route into the EUDIS/EDF ecosystem with mentorship and defence-industry jury contact, focused on GNSS-denied navigation and swarming. Relevant to early-stage autonomy, PNT and swarm-software teams with a working prototype, including Ukrainian firms. Do: Monitor eudis-hackathon.eu for registration opening and pre-select a host location (e.g. Linköping Science Park or Kjeller Innovasjon) matching your national challenge, with a demonstrable GNSS-denied navigation or swarm prototype ready for 15–17 October 2026.

This is a large, multi-year national UAS procurement showing Poland's continued investment in tactical mini-drone systems, awarded to incumbent WB Electronics; component and subsystem suppliers to WB Electronics (payloads, comms, autonomy modules) should take note. Do: If you supply UAV subsystems, sensors, or comms modules, contact WB Electronics S.A. directly to explore subcontracting opportunities for the 2027-2030 Gladius delivery programme.

Confirms operational validation of Swiss C-UAS assets and ADS 15 night ISR in a real event-security setting, a reference the Armed Forces will cite in future capability arguments. Relevant to C-UAS and EO/IR payload suppliers tracking Swiss lower-airspace defence and event-security requirements.

COMMIT is signalling an early-stage replacement programme for the Dutch Army's man-portable UGV, ahead of a formal tender. Makers of portable EOD/recce ground robots and their control/payload subsystem suppliers should position now, before requirements are frozen. Do: Download the front letter and Annex A from the TED notice and send COMMIT a capability response on your man-portable UGV platform to be included in the market consultation before the tender is issued.

ELROB is the main European shop window where armasuisse and the SDRZ VBS scout UGV technology, and it rotates between Germany, Austria and Switzerland every two years. UGV and autonomy-stack developers, plus CasEvac/EOD payload makers, should target the 2028 edition and the SDRZ VBS research programme for follow-on Swiss test and study work. Do: Contact the Schweizer Drohnen- und Robotik-Zentrum VBS (SDRZ) about the 'Unbemannte Systeme / Robotik' research programme and register interest with ELROB.org for the 2028 trial.

Early market consultation ahead of a 3-5 system buy by 2031 gives low-frequency SAS sonar and AUV integrators a chance to shape requirements and contracting structure before any tender. Relevant to underwater sonar payload makers, AUV builders and mine-countermeasures autonomy specialists able to work with the Dutch navy. Do: Submit an RFI response to COMMIT via the TED notice contact detailing your LFSAS payload or AUV integration experience and proposed contracting model, and flag interest in leading versus supplying a payload.

Cyberagentur market consultations typically precede a funded multi-lot research competition, so early input can shape scope and cost baselines for a swarm-autonomy programme. Relevant to autonomy-stack, swarm C2 and GNSS-denied navigation developers and research-heavy SMEs able to contract with a German federal agency. Do: Download the Markterkundung documents at cyberagentur.de/programme/iris and submit your effort and cost estimate plus capability profile to the Cyberagentur now, ahead of the formal IRiS call.

Early-stage market consultation by FOI means AUV suppliers can still shape the specification of a Swedish procurement before it is written. Relevant to AUV/UUV builders and underwater payload and autonomy-stack vendors selling into Nordic research and naval customers. Do: Send FOI your AUV capability data and answers to the RFI questions via the TED notice contact now, and register interest to be notified when the procurement is published.

One of the few SAFE plans published in contract-level detail — a shopping list of primes who now need Romanian offset/local content partners and sub-suppliers.

This is a construction/infrastructure award tied to deployment of Spain's SIRTAP UAV programme, signalling growing base infrastructure investment around unmanned systems; relevant mainly to Spanish civil-works contractors and infrastructure subcontractors already engaged with the Ejército del Aire.

armasuisse is institutionalising a recurring Swiss-only defence research channel focused on GNSS anti-jam and C-UAS, but funding flows exclusively to ETH-domain labs. C-UAS and GNSS-resilience companies in Switzerland should care as downstream partners rather than applicants. Do: If you work in C-UAS or GNSS anti-jam, line up a research partnership with an EPFL/ETHZ lab now so you are attached to a proposal when the autumn 2026 call opens.

This is a routine multi-year survey/GIS framework award to a single Norwegian supplier, with limited direct relevance beyond the incumbent and its subcontractors. Do: Geo-survey and drone-mapping SMEs interested in subcontracting should approach Exact Geo Survey AS directly, as Forsvarsbygg retains the right to contract with other tenderers if capacity is needed.

Proof that start-ups now win Bundeswehr production contracts at prime scale — and that Germany is standing up multiple parallel suppliers, which leaves room for component and sub-system vendors (seekers, warheads, datalinks).

Benchmarks for your EDF 2026 bid: 1-in-7 success rate, SMEs winning a fifth of the money, and flagship-aligned topics (drones, C-UAS, air defence) favoured — plus TALON-style cascade funding means you can get EDF money without being in the consortium.

Relevant to avionics, RTOS, secure computing and AI-hardware suppliers seeking entry into European future air combat architectures; design activities require harmonised requirements from at least two Member States, so consortium positioning matters.