Open Call for Cutting-Edge Defence Solutions (EU cascade…

Open Call for Cutting-Edge Defence Solutions

Open call run by the EU-funded project BATTLEVERSE (A Human-Centred MSaaS Ecosystem for Enhanced Mission Planning and Execution via Battlefield Modelling, Adversarial AI, and Multi-domain Simulation Environments). You apply to the project, not to the European Commission. Synced from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal on 9 November 2026.

On this page · 8 sections→

01The project
02Consortium
03Similar calls
04Cascade funding FAQ
05Call scope
06Eligibility & conditions
07Official FAQs
08Official source

The project running this call: BATTLEVERSE

A Human-Centred MSaaS Ecosystem for Enhanced Mission Planning and Execution via Battlefield Modelling, Adversarial AI, and Multi-domain Simulation Environments

BattleVerse envisions a cutting-edge military metaverse bridging real and virtual battle environments to support dynamic and effective mission planning and execution. Through multi-domain simulations, BattleVerse will provide military strategists and commanders with an interactive virtual battlespace, enriched by Digital Twins (DTs) of battle assets, landscapes, and weather. These DTs will allow for precise testing of multiple Courses of Action and simulate potential enemy responses, enhancing decision-making. Leveraging AI-driven scenario generation and reinforcement learning, BattleVerse will enable the virtual execution of complex mission scenarios, delivering actionable insights into battlefield dynamics and improving response times. Aligned with standards like STANAG 4603 and HLA, BattleVerse’s service-based architecture follows the Modelling and Simulation as a Service paradigm,…

EU contribution

€15.0M

Total cost

€15.0M

Runs

1 Nov 2025 to 31 Oct 2028

Programme

European Defence Fund (EDF)

Official project record ↗

Who runs it: the consortium

20 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.

Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis · GreeceCoordinator
Idryma Technologias Kai Erevnas · GreecePartner
Ianus Technologies Ltd · Cyprus · SMEPartner
Akmon Viomichaniki Kai Emporiki Anonymi Etaireia · Greece · SMEPartner
Thales · FrancePartner
Naval Group · FrancePartner
Safran Electronics & Defense · FrancePartner
Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH · GermanyPartner
CS GROUP - France · FrancePartner
Indra Sistemas SA · SpainPartner
Guardiaris, Racunalniske Aplikacije In Simulacije D.o.o · Slovenia · SMEPartner
Ait Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH · AustriaPartner
Commissariat A L Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives · FrancePartner
Inesc Tec - Instituto de Engenhariade Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciencia · PortugalPartner
Mbda Italia SpA · ItalyPartner
Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy · FinlandPartner
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS · NorwayPartner
University of Macedonia · GreecePartner
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid · SpainPartner
Univerza V Ljubljani · SloveniaPartner

Similar open calls from EU projects

Other cascade calls on related topics that you can apply to now.

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?: Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.
Who can apply?: Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.
Do I need a consortium?: Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.
How large are the grants?: Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.
Can I combine it with other EU funding?: Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

Cascade funding in the glossary · All open cascade calls

What this call funds

The BattleVerse project, a European Defence Fund Development Action co-funded under grant agreement No 101224034, foresees the provision of Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), also referred to as Cascade Funding, to support innovative experiments contributing to the objectives of the project.

The BattleVerse 1st Open Call is designed to support innovative experiments contributing to the development and validation of advanced technologies for mission planning, simulation, training and execution in defence-related environments. The Open Call primarily targets SMEs, including start-ups, and will provide selected beneficiaries with financial support to implement experiments over a period of six months.

The Open Call covers three technical topics designed to advance next-generation defence simulation capabilities. Applicants are invited to propose innovative solutions in AI-enabled decision support (including Machine Learning, LLMs, strategic decision-making and human-in-the-loop AI), advanced modelling and simulation (including MSaaS, Digital Twins and multi-domain simulation environments), or autonomous defence systems (including unmanned vehicles, distributed AI and swarm operations).

Proposal applications must be submitted exclusively via the BattleVerse Submission Portal.

Experiments may be implemented by a single SME or start-up, or by an eligible consortium of up to three beneficiaries. Participation of entities other than SMEs, including RTOs and academic institutions, may only be accepted where no suitable SME is available to provide the specific capacity or expertise required for the successful implementation of the experiment, and such participation must be duly justified in the proposal.

The proposal must be written in English in all mandatory parts to be eligible. The project description shall not exceed 15 pages as indicated in the Proposal Template. Only a proposal included in the Proposal Template will be reviewed by Evaluators. The evaluation will be performed per topics. Applications submitted by email, post, or any means other than the one described above will not be considered.

The assessment of the Call will follow transparent evaluation criteria, lump-sum funding modalities, and strict governance procedures in full compliance with the corresponding EDF's Model Grant Agreement.

The eligibility criteria applicable to the BattleVerse 1st Open Call reflect the relevant requirements of the European Defence Fund and the specific conditions established for Financial Support to Third Parties. To be eligible, applicants must:

Be a legal private entity qualifying as Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise as defined by the European Commission. Entities other than SMEs may participate only in duly justified cases where the specific capacity or expertise required for the experiment cannot be provided by an available eligible SME.
Applicants must be legal entities established in any of the countries eligible for this open call: A EU27 Member State or Norway or Ukraine. This follows country eligibility criteria under the EDF as well as the Commission Implementing Decision of 29 January 2025 (C(2025) 568 final
EDF-funded activities are subject to specific ownership and control requirements in accordance with Article 9 EDF Regulation. To be eligible for this Call, entities must be established in an EU Member State, Norway or Ukraine. Applicants controlled by an entity from a non-eligible country will be excluded.
Applicants must comply with all eligibility criteria defined in this Guide for Applicants, including requirements related to geographical scope, ownership control, security requirements, conflict of interest and data protection. These conditions are aligned with the applicable rules of the European Defence Fund, tailored to the reality of financial support to third parties.
Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature).
Applicants to this Call must submit the Ownership Control Declaration.
Comply with ethics requirements as defined in Article 7 of EDF Regulation.
Comply with security requirements of the Call.
Comply with financial capacity requirements of the Call.
Comply with any other specificity of the Call.
Not have any conflict of interest with BattleVerse consortium partners.

Eligibility & conditions+

An online info session for this Call will take place on 6 October 2026 at 10:00 CET.

The call conditions financial support to the third parties call conditions and any complementary information for applicants are available on the project website at the following links: BattleVerse Open Calls and BattleVerse Submission Portal.

Official FAQs

Applicants asked the EU 3 questions about this call and the EU published the answers. They clarify the call documents but do not replace them.

Who can apply

Under the EDF calls, must the SME/mid-cap status be valid and proved for the ongoing and previous 2 years as stated in the "call document" OR must the SME/mid-cap self-assessment be recent (not older than 2 years) as stated in application form Part B?We are requesting entities claiming the SME (or mid-cap) status to have performed, by the proposal submission deadline, a self-assessment based on the data of the most…

We are requesting entities claiming the SME (or mid-cap) status to have performed, by the proposal submission deadline, a self-assessment based on the data of the most recent accounting period and that shall not be older than 2 years. However, during the grant agreement preparation, a new self-assessment based on the latest data available may be requested by the Commission depending on the age of the data used for the latest self-assessment or depending on the result of previous self-assessments recorded in the system.

Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 17 Apr 2024

Budget and costs

Under EDF, the Detailed Budget Table proposal annex has the old unit cost per day-equivalent for beneficiaries that are SMEs for their owners not receiving a salary and by beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary, should we update it?The updated version 2.0 of the Decision C(2020)7115 that includes the updated unit cost does not apply to the EDF 2024 calls, as the EDF calls opened before the entry…

The updated version 2.0 of the Decision C(2020)7115PDF that includes the updated unit cost does not apply to the EDF 2024 calls, as the EDF calls opened before the entry into force of this Decision (Article 2). Therefore the tariff in the current detailed budget table annex applies and is correct.

Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 11 Oct 2024

If you win

Under EDF, it was advised at the info days to split long Work Packages along the reporting periods and label them as WPX.1,WPX.2. However, when completing the DetailedBudgetTable the WPs are automatically created and labelled as WP1,WP2,... What do we do?The detailed budget table does not allow you to create sub-workpackages.

The detailed budget table does not allow you to create sub-workpackages. So, in order to implement WP1.1 and WP1.2 etc. you can simply consider that WP1 is WP1.1 and create WP2 as another work package under the same activity that will play the role of WP1.2.

Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 9 Oct 2025

Official source

Confirm the current call documents and submission conditions with the funding authority.

View on EU portal ↗

Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-11-09

Open Call for Cutting-Edge Defence Solutions

The project running this call: BATTLEVERSE

A Human-Centred MSaaS Ecosystem for Enhanced Mission Planning and Execution via Battlefield Modelling, Adversarial AI, and Multi-domain Simulation Environments

EU contribution

€15.0M

Total cost

€15.0M

Runs

1 Nov 2025 to 31 Oct 2028

Programme

European Defence Fund (EDF)

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?

Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.

Who can apply?

Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.

Do I need a consortium?

Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.

How large are the grants?

Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.

Can I combine it with other EU funding?

Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

What this call funds

Proposal applications must be submitted exclusively via the BattleVerse Submission Portal.

Be a legal private entity qualifying as Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise as defined by the European Commission. Entities other than SMEs may participate only in duly justified cases where the specific capacity or expertise required for the experiment cannot be provided by an available eligible SME.
Applicants must be legal entities established in any of the countries eligible for this open call: A EU27 Member State or Norway or Ukraine. This follows country eligibility criteria under the EDF as well as the Commission Implementing Decision of 29 January 2025 (C(2025) 568 final
EDF-funded activities are subject to specific ownership and control requirements in accordance with Article 9 EDF Regulation. To be eligible for this Call, entities must be established in an EU Member State, Norway or Ukraine. Applicants controlled by an entity from a non-eligible country will be excluded.
Applicants must comply with all eligibility criteria defined in this Guide for Applicants, including requirements related to geographical scope, ownership control, security requirements, conflict of interest and data protection. These conditions are aligned with the applicable rules of the European Defence Fund, tailored to the reality of financial support to third parties.
Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature).
Applicants to this Call must submit the Ownership Control Declaration.
Comply with ethics requirements as defined in Article 7 of EDF Regulation.
Comply with security requirements of the Call.
Comply with financial capacity requirements of the Call.
Comply with any other specificity of the Call.
Not have any conflict of interest with BattleVerse consortium partners.

Official FAQs

Applicants asked the EU 3 questions about this call and the EU published the answers. They clarify the call documents but do not replace them.

Open Call for Cutting-Edge Defence Solutions

The project running this call: BATTLEVERSE

Who runs it: the consortium

Similar open calls from EU projects

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What this call funds

Official FAQs

Who can apply

Budget and costs

If you win

Official source

Track this call and plan your application.

Open Call for Cutting-Edge Defence Solutions

The project running this call: BATTLEVERSE

Who runs it: the consortium

Similar open calls from EU projects

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What this call funds

Official FAQs

Who can apply

Budget and costs

If you win

Official source

Track this call and plan your application.