Programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation

Programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation

Programme for AGILE and Rapid Defence Innovation

AGILE is the new Programme for AGILE and Rapid Defence Innovation proposed by the European Commission on 25 March 2026. Its purpose is to strengthen the Union’s ability to support defence innovation more quickly, especially where it comes from SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups developing emerging and disruptive solutions that can respond to urgent operational needs. The proposal presents AGILE as a complementary instrument to the European Defence Fund and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme, designed to shorten the time between technological development and delivery to the end user.

Unlike other European instruments that are more geared towards large collaborative projects and longer R&D cycles, AGILE has been conceived with a different logic in mind: greater speed, more flexibility and a clear focus on operational outcomes. The Commission also links it to the need to accelerate the uptake of emerging technologies in a geopolitical and technological environment that is evolving rapidly.

From a timing perspective, the proposal states that AGILE will apply from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027, with an indicative financial envelope of EUR 115 million in current prices. Although it is a one-year programme, the Commission also presents it as an initiative that could help shape future defence innovation support mechanisms under the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.

AGILE is designed to operate through faster and simpler procedures than those usually associated with European funding programmes. The proposal provides for accelerated and simplified evaluation and award procedures, with the aim of reducing administrative burden and shortening the time to grant. It even allows for certain procedures to be based initially on declarations, in order to enable faster decision-making.

The programme may be implemented under direct or indirect management and allows for different forms of Union funding. In addition, the proposal states that AGILE may cover up to 100% of eligible costs, which sends a strong signal of support to innovative companies that often struggle to access public or private co-financing for defence projects.

In practice, this means that AGILE is not only intended to identify promising ideas, but also to provide a rapid support route for projects with real potential for development, validation and uptake. Its design combines administrative simplification, speed of implementation and a focus on solutions with clear operational value.

The proposal provides that entities established in a Member State or an associated third country, as well as international organisations, may be eligible. However, for AGILE-funded actions, the general rule is that the beneficiaries of Union funding should be SMEs, including innovative start-ups and scale-ups, and that they must comply with the eligibility conditions laid down in the regulation.

In addition, except in certain specific cases, beneficiaries must be established in the EU or in an associated third country, have their executive management structures in the EU or in an associated third country, and must not be controlled by a non-associated third country or by an entity from a non-associated third country. The proposal also requires, as a general rule, that the infrastructure, facilities, assets and resources used for the funded action be located in the territory of a Member State or an associated third country throughout the duration of the project.

That said, the text introduces some flexibility through a possible inducement intervention, which would allow for a temporary and conditional exemption from certain establishment or location requirements in order to help certain innovative companies adapt and comply with the conditions at a later stage. This is especially relevant for emerging players or companies coming from the civilian sector that may not yet be fully structured to access European defence funding.

Types of projects that can be funded

The proposal makes it clear that AGILE is not intended for very early-stage research. Instead, it is designed to support the development of emerging and disruptive defence products and technologies up to high levels of technological maturity. The text explicitly refers to support for the development of such solutions, including iterative field testing and demonstrations, as well as actions aimed at facilitating uptake, including through aggregation of demand.

The proposal also allows support for the adaptation of civilian technologies for defence applications, which reinforces the programme’s relevance for dual-use companies and for innovations coming from non-traditional defence ecosystems. In other words, AGILE sits in that critical space where an innovation is no longer just an idea, but still needs validation, traction and a clear pathway towards operational use or integration into industrial value chains and procurement processes.

Projects that are particularly well suited to AGILE are therefore those with a strong technological component, a differentiated value proposition and a clear potential for use by armed forces or European defence prime contractors, provided they can demonstrate speed of development, operational relevance and a credible route to scale.

Why the European Defence Fund requires expert advice

Although AGILE is more agile than the European Defence Fund, both operate in a demanding ecosystem shaped by technological, industrial, regulatory, geopolitical and security factors.

In defence funding, knowing general EU rules is not enough. Companies must also understand eligibility, ownership and location restrictions, alignment with EU priorities, and proposal design. Under AGILE, speed makes correct positioning even more important from the start.

That is why expert advice can be decisive. At Euro-Funding Europe, we see AGILE as a sign of where European defence funding is heading: faster, more focused on uptake, and more oriented towards innovative companies able to deliver useful solutions quickly. Our role is to help companies turn their technology into a fundable, credible and strategically aligned project, while also addressing key regulatory and eligibility issues that may determine admissibility.

Our approach to AGILE projects

At Euro-Funding Europe, we see AGILE not simply as a potential new call, but as a signal of where European defence funding is heading: more speed, a stronger focus on uptake and greater attention to innovative companies capable of delivering useful solutions in a short timeframe. Our approach is to help companies translate their technological capability into a fundable project that is understandable to the Commission and aligned with the specific logic of the instrument.

That means working from the outset on key issues such as technology maturity, operational relevance, value proposition for end users, validation and deployment logic, and the credibility of the pathway towards uptake. Under AGILE, having a good technology will not be enough. Companies will need to show why that solution should be accelerated now, which concrete need it addresses, and how it can become a useful capability or a genuine industrial opportunity.

We also pay close attention to regulatory and eligibility issues, which are often decisive in defence. A company’s location, control structure, asset base and intended use of the technology can all be determining factors in whether a proposal is admissible.

From strategy to an EU-funded project

Many projects with European potential do not fail because they lack innovation, but because they have not been structured clearly enough as fundable projects. In the case of AGILE, this shift from strategy to project is even more important, because the instrument is designed to move quickly and prioritise solutions that can already demonstrate a clear logic of development, testing, uptake and scale-up.

The key step is therefore to turn a business or technology initiative into a compelling project narrative. That requires defining precisely the problem being addressed, the level of technological maturity, the differentiating factor of the solution, its relevance for public or industrial users, and the way in which EU support will tangibly accelerate its progress. In an instrument such as AGILE, where speed and clarity are especially important, this strategic translation is essential.

Our role is precisely to support that process: identifying whether a company or technology has a genuine fit, building a strong positioning and developing a proposal that responds to the programme’s logic not only from a technical perspective, but also from a political, industrial and operational one.