Defence: New joint call for R&D projects

On 10 July 2025, Minister of Defence Yuriko Backes, Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism Lex Delles and Minister of Research and Higher Education Stéphanie Obertin jointly announced the launch of the third call for defence R&D projects. [lien vers article gouvernement].

As with the first two editions, the call is the result of a national collaboration led by the Directorate of Defence, the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Research and Higher Education, in partnership with the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and Luxinnovation.

This year’s call, supported by a total budget of €11.25 million, specifically targets projects with a purely defence focus, rather than dual-use technologies. While the call remains open in scope with no predefined research themes, priority areas include advanced materials, cybersecurity, space technologies, circular economy, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.

Now established as an annual opportunity, the joint call is open to Luxembourg-based companies and public research centres, as well as partners from allied or friendly countries, provided they participate as self-funded members of a consortium.

Luxinnovation’s central role

To encourage the development of strong project proposals and support interested players, Luxinnovation will launch an online platform where companies and public research players can submit their project ideas from 15 September 2025 to 12 December 2025. In addition, Luxinnovation will organise information webinars on 22 September and 12 November 2025, providing guidance and practical details of the call.

"Through this joint call, interested companies and research centres have the opportunity to validate the defence relevance of their technologies by securing national support for an initial project backed by the Directorate of Defence. It also opens the door to participation in the EU’s defence value chain, contributing to strengthening the European Union's defence capabilities," explains Rebecca Damotte, Defence Innovation & Technology Advisor at Luxinnovation.

Multiple benefits for participants

Taking part in this joint call for projects offers several key advantages for companies and research centres:

• economic and social returns on investment through the promotion of innovative projects and the integration of national innovative products and solutions into international value chains
• increased visibility for Luxembourg-based stakeholders with state partners
• opportunities for new entrants to engage in the national defence community, collaborate with peers, and promote or commercialise their technological capabilities on an international scale.