AGILE: New Funding Instrument Aims for Rapid Deployment of AI, Drones, and Quantum Tech
AGILE is a pilot instrument set to accelerate the development and testing of disruptive defence innovations and their market uptake, such as artificial intelligence, quantum or drones, focusing on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including start-ups and scale-ups. AGILE is designed for the ‘New Defence‘ players who move at high speed.
13. 5. 2026
Insights
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has shown that success on the battlefield now depends on short innovation cycles; the ability to develop, test, and deploy new technologies and cost-efficient solutions in weeks or months rather than years.
AGILE will provide faster, more flexible funding for individual companies, and allow innovations to be deployed as quickly as possible. AGILE will aim to operate with an unprecedented time-to-grant of just four months and for technologies to reach defence forces between 1-3 years.
AGILE will support between 20 and 30 projects, providing up to 100% funding for all eligible costs. It will also include a retroactive clause for companies to claim expenses incurred up to three months prior to the closing of the call for applications, to facilitate quick innovation.
The work programme will cover two main types of activities:
- Mission-driven development of disruptive defence products and technologies,
- market delivery by helping defence solutions reach the actual markets.
AGILE offers 1-5 million/project and the first calls are extected in early 2027.
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