The European Commission has approved the Work Programme for the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) for 2026 and 2027, mobilising €1.5 billion in grants to boost the competitiveness, resilience and readiness of Europe’s defence industrial base.
Adopted on March 29, the programme channels funding across ten key action lines. The largest share — over €700 million — targets industrial production capacity, financing the scale-up of manufacturing lines for strategic products including missiles, ammunition, counter-drone systems and energetic components. Notably, €260 million is reserved under the Ukraine Support Instrument (USI) for collaborative projects jointly reinforcing production capacity in both Ukraine and EU member states.
A further €240 million is earmarked for joint procurement actions, incentivising member states to purchase defence equipment collectively, reducing market fragmentation and improving interoperability. Categories covered include counter-drone and anti-missile systems, ground and naval combat platforms, and C5ISR technologies.
The programme also allocates €325 million for European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCI) — large-scale pan-European collaborative industrial initiatives similar to Important Projects of Common European Interest in other sectors. Consortia of large companies, SMEs and technology centres are expected to participate.
For startups and SMEs specifically, €100 million is available through the FAST Fund (Fund Accelerating Defence Supply Chains Transformation), offering equity-type support to scale up defence manufacturing capacity. An additional €35.3 million backs the BraveTech EU initiative, delivering cascade funding of up to €200,000 per project for innovative defence solutions targeting urgent Ukrainian battlefield needs — covering areas such as AI, drones, electronic warfare and future technologies including laser weapons and humanoid drones.
Rounding out the programme are actions on joint ammunition certification (€50 million), a Defence Talent Platform for young professionals (€1.6 million, launching Q4 2026), support for European Armament Programme Structures (SEAPs), a European Military Sales Catalogue, and a supply security monitoring framework.
All calls for proposals will be published on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.
📄 Read the full document: EDIP Work Programme 2026–2027 — Summary Sheet