Call for participation in the «Defence Innovation Prize 2024» of the European Defence Agency (EDA)
The Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI) from the European Defence Agency (EDA) is offering access to extended exchange with international and European partners as well as to the HEDI research and innovation activities. The Defence Innovation Prize 2024 of the EDA, for example, will thus take place in June 2024.
Sarah Trösch, Staff and Jens Rehanek, specialist area Research and Innovation, competence sector Science and Technology
The HEDI was implemented by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to promote innovative solutions for military capabilities. The member states support each other mutually through closer cooperation.
Options for researchers and industry thanks to HEDI membership
Thanks to their membership of the HEDI, its member states benefit from the option of cooperating more closely with other member states in the area of defence innovation. This enables researchers and industry, among others, to take part in the various innovation activities of the HEDI. For example, the competition «EDA Research, Technology, and Innovation Papers Award 2024» already took place this year. This focused on innovative technologies, procedures and applications for an improved future defence capability.
Call for participation in the «EDA Defence Innovation Prize 2024»
The call for the «EDA Defence Innovation Prize 2024» is currently taking place, in which researchers from Switzerland can also take part for the first time. This year, the Innovation Prize is devoted to technologies for maritime situational awareness with regard to the protection of critical infrastructures and technologies for intelligent sensory analysis. Within the framework of the prize, it is expected from applicants that they propose ideas which, if they are implemented by 2030, aim to contribute to improving and developing specific EU defence capabilities.
In summary, this year’s innovation prize focuses on the following topics:
- Innovative concepts, technologies and solutions for the protection of critical maritime infrastructures
- Cognitive sensory analysis to improve the performance of ISTAR systems in defence applications.
The deadline for applications is 14 June 2024. All entries must be submitted in English.
All organisations (industrial, academic, public) that develop innovative solutions in the areas mentioned above are invited to take part in this competition.
In general, the goal of the «EDA Defence Innovation Prize 2024» is to promote technological defence innovation in Europe by supporting research and technology communities outside of the defence sector which are playing an increasingly important role in the development and production of future defence capabilities in Europe.
You can find more information on the «EDA Defence Innovation Prize 2024» as well as on participation in the competition at the link shown below.
Overview of further HEDI activities
More innovation activities are planned by the HEDI in the future: For example, various innovations will be tested as part of field experiments, diverse proofs-of-concept launched, the European Defence Innovation Day (EDID) hosted and a major experiment carried out in the area of autonomous systems in the Logistics sector (Last-Mile-Delivery). In a military context, the Last Mile Delivery (LMD) refers to the distribution of goods from the last rallying point to distributed task forces. It is an important process in combat support. Experts from Switzerland, among others, have signed up for this major experiment.
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