All items · Quantum

This is the EDF's most open, smallest-ticket door — EUR 3m per project, no thematic constraint, TRL4+, aimed at rapid time-to-market — making it the realistic entry point for deep-tech scale-ups without prime backing. Relevant to AI, autonomy, quantum, EW and novel-materials startups able to form a small cross-border consortium. Do: Assemble a lean consortium of eligible EU/Norway-based entities and prepare the lump-sum Detailed Budget Table plus ownership-control declaration for submission on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal before 29 September 2026.

A single ~EUR 14m award concentrates EU funding for quantum-secured tactical comms in one consortium, building on earlier EDF work where existing SDR/QKD participants have an edge. Relevant to QKD/PQC hardware and SDR/SDN software firms in EU/Norway able to slot into a large comms-prime-led consortium. Do: Contact likely EDF consortium leads in secure tactical comms (SDR/SDN integrators) now to secure a QKD or PQC work package before the 29 September 2026 submission deadline via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Research actions are 100% funded and the SME/disruptive tracks are the realistic entry point for start-ups without a prime sponsor — but with 6 weeks left, only teams with a draft proposal should still be building consortia.

Best fit for deep-tech start-ups and labs with a genuinely new concept rather than a product roadmap; success rates on EDF were ~14% in 2025, so a strong consortium matters more than the idea.

RAPID is one of Europe's most SME-friendly dual-use grants (no consortium, French entity required) — EU start-ups with a French subsidiary or partner should watch this page monthly.

Swiss offset demand is being explicitly steered towards cyber, secure comms, sensors, quantum, advanced manufacturing and MRO certification — a named pipeline of subcontracts controlled by Lockheed Martin, not a tender. Swiss (especially Romandy and Ticino) SMEs and research groups in precision manufacturing, canopy/composites, cyber training, training ammunition and quantum should be positioning now. Do: Pitch your capability directly to Lockheed Martin's Swiss offset/industrial participation office and register your firm with armasuisse's offset register contacts, emphasising Romandy or Ticino sites and the named technology fields.

German research contracts (not grants) with 100% funding for cyber/AI/quantum teams; also present at the Bundeswehr Innovation Centre in Erding — a door into BAAINBw for non-defence tech firms.

This is a large, specific award for post-quantum cryptography embedded in IFF systems, signalling Polish military interest in quantum-resistant secure identification technology; relevant to cyber/quantum crypto firms and secure-comms suppliers eyeing subcontracting or future related tenders. Do: Contact Enamor Sp. z o.o. or the Cyberspace Resources Centre of the Armed Forces to explore subsystem or subcontracting opportunities tied to this post-quantum IFF encryptor programme.

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.

Relevant to quantum sensing and EW/PNT-resilience specialists in Germany; signals Cyberagentur's early interest in quantum PNT vulnerability, likely followed by further tranches.