LEAK: European Defence Fund to fund next-gen helicopters, cargo planes

The European Commission wants to invest in the development of key technologies for next-generation conventional warfare, especially involving artificial intelligence in autonomous and unmanned systems, according to an internal draft document, seen by Euractiv.

The Commission plans to invest €335 million in 16 research projects and €630 in 17 development projects for the year 2024, for a total of €935 million, according to a 2024 draft list of projects to be financed under the European Defence Fund (EDF), seen by Euractiv.

Projects and budgets put forward show a wish to invest more in conventional warfare equipment, with a combination of key disruptive technologies, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown its importance on the battlefield.

The estimated budget is in line with the annual financial envelopes put forward by the EU executive when it set up the €7 billion programme.

The European Defence Fund already finances research and development in the defence field, for three companies based in three different countries, in a bid to boost collaborative innovation, put EU-made options on the market for the world to buy, and provide an alternative to US-made products.

The EU executive is to publish the 2024 calls in March or April for defence companies to place their tenders by the end of the year, which will be followed by a selection process the following year.

Next-generation helicopters and cargo planes

The development of the next-generation helicopter is set to receive the largest contribution from the EU budget, currently set at €100 million, according to the document.

This project aims to launch a programme for collaborative helicopter development by 2030, according to the draft programme.

The Europeans’ fleet is however not up to the task, the Commission adds: “Current capability forecast assessments at European and NATO levels show that the helicopter fleets will have to be renewed as of 2035-2040”.

As a result, the “main objective” is therefore “to provide a European solution that meets the European market and military needs”, and by extension offer a competitive option on the international market.

The Commission’s programme uses the same argument to justify further investment into the “future mid-size tactical cargo aircraft”, as they fulfil many similar missions, and the “majority of currently operating tactical aircraft (C130) is now 40 years old, and there is a need for a new medium tactical European aircraft, lighter than the A400M that could provide a complementary capacity for tactical transport”, the document says.

That project could start European-wide discussions on “what the 2035+ future of EU military tactical transport could be”, and looks to a prototype’s first flight in the early 2030s.

Hypersonic threats

The second largest winner of the 2024’s programme will be the development of a Hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) demonstrator. The EU executive and member states are looking to invest €78 million to detect, track and counter hypersonic weapons.

The demonstrator looks to “improve the defence capability against Hypersonic glide vehicle threats by collecting all information necessary to successfully counter HGV systems.”

“In the context of future armed conflicts, hypersonic weapons could increasingly be used to circumvent current air and missile defence systems,” the document says. 

Last year’s call invested €70 million into hypersonic missile defence.

In addition, a total of €35 million will be dedicated to research on concept study on advanced air-to-air missiles, which can also work for ground-based air defence applications.

“The main objective is, therefore, to develop at European level concepts and operational requirements for a short-range air-to-air missile (SRAAM) to primarily counter modern 5th and future 6th generation combat aircraft and other airborne threats such as Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and cruise missiles,” the document states.

Autonomy in key technologies

A large array of projects focusing on autonomy and unmanned systems. 

include developing unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (U-CCA) systems (€15 million), multipurpose unmanned ground systems (€50 million), functional smart system-of-systems for future naval platforms (€45 million), and autonomous heavy mine sweeping systems (€30 million).

A total of €30 million will be invested in research for intelligent weaponry and ammunition systems (€30 million) to increase precision and reduce dependency on non-EU satellite navigation. 

[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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