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Laser-based directed energy weapons

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Programme category
Call status
Closed

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

European Defence Fund (EDF)

Programme Description

The European Defence Fund (EDF) is the Commission’s initiative to support collaborative defence research and development, and to foster an innovative and competitive defence industrial base.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

EDF-2023-RA-DIS-LDEW

Call

Laser-based directed energy weapons

Summary

HEL weapons need to highly concentrate light energy on designated targets to defeat incoming threats. The laser beam must dwell and remain focused on target during several seconds, after having propagated through a turbulent atmosphere. Moreover, it should be possible to repeat this action as many times as needed to achieve the desired effect and address all incoming threats.

Detailed Call Description

Ongoing EU-funded research (with a dedicated call in PADR 2018) paved the way to the design and build of an EU high-power laser effector to be integrated in military systems once mature.

However, the limited budget available under PADR constrained the TRL increase. Hence, some further research activities should be performed in order to increase the level of maturity of some of the most critical LDEW technologies and subsystems to ensure strategic autonomy and security of supply in this critical domain.

In particular, the development of a future LDEW capability requires to address specifically: operational challenges. Laser weapons must be able to operate safely and efficiently in two different categories of use cases:

  1. Use case type 1: easy targets such as NATO class 1 UAV, ground robots, antennas, radars must be neutralised within a populated environment, which requires a low probability of collateral damage.
  2. Use case type 2: more difficult targets such as fast boats, NATO class 2 UAVs, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), rocket, and missiles must be neutralised within an open field environment.

Those two-type scenarios induce the challenge for a broad approach that covers:

  • a first situation with moderate power [5-20kW] and intrinsic limited collateral damage probability, especially associated with an eye-safer wavelength;
  • a second situation with high power [50-100kW] capacity associated with moderate SWaP.

The proposals must address in priority:

  • beam combining techniques;
  • development of laser sources, allowing significant output power increase;
  • shaping and propagation of the beam;
  • fine tracking and pointing;
  • electrical and thermal management.

Call Total Budget

€25 000 000

Thematic Categories

  • Energy
  • Justice - Security
  • Other Thematic Category
  • Research, Technological Development and Innovation

Eligibility for Participation

  • Large Enterprises
  • Other Beneficiaries
  • Private Bodies
  • Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

Applications will only be considered eligible if their content corresponds wholly (or at least in part) to the topic description for which it is submitted.

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
    • non-EU countries:
      • listed EEA countries (‘EDF associated countries’, see list of participating countries)
  • have their executive management structure established in eligible countries
  • must not be subject to control by a non-associated third country or nonassociated third-country entity (unless they can provide guarantees – see Annex 2 – approved by the Member State or EDF associated country where they are established).

Consortium composition – For all topics under this call, including EDF-2023-RA-DIS-LDEW, proposals must be submitted by:
minimum 3 independent applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

Call Opening Date

22/06/2023

Call Closing Date

22/11/2023

National Contact Point(s)

Ministry of Defense

172-174 Strovolos Avenue, 2048 Strovolos, Nicosia,
website: https://mod.gov.cy/
Telephone: 22 807500
Email: defence@mod.gov.cy

Department of Research and Innovation
Phones: 22 807755, 22 807754
Email: research.innovation@mod.gov.cy

EU Contact Point

European Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS): https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/defence-industry-and-space_en

For help related to this call, please contact: DEFIS-EDF-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu

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