A three-year pilot programme designed to lay the ground for the EU’s first move into funding defence R&D did not fulfil its purpose. A more strategic approach is needed to ensure research is translated into new defence technologies

By head count, SMEs represent 40% of those awarded EDF money. But their share amounts to only 20% of the total funding

Budget drawn up in shadow of the pandemic and before Russia invaded Ukraine does not reflect Europe’s military needs and new security priorities  

Innovation is critical to protect Europe from security threats and to ensure its companies are competitive in the global market. Current funding won’t deliver say MEPs

New “spin-in” calls are part of a broader effort to ensure civilian technologies developed under Horizon Europe can be taken up and applied by European Defence Fund projects

Their Soviet past and proximity to a newly aggressive Russia is motivating companies in the Baltics to grow fast and develop new defence technologies

Calls for applications cover topics such as underwater warfare, advanced radar technologies, adaptive camouflage and defence medical response

To turn things around, the Commission is considering more money for the European Defence Fund, a hub for defence innovation, new financing instruments for defence SMEs and a bigger role for the European Investment Bank

Figures from the European Defence Agency show EU member states are investing more in joint R&D with military applications, as the Commission makes moves to open up research funds for ‘dual-use’ technologies

As Science|Business marks the 1000th issue of its newsletter this month, we are struck by the long history of EU argument over how and how much EU R&D programmes should work with defence. Herewith, a few of our past articles in that vein