Airbus launches European Defence Fund R&D projects

Airbus (Toulouse, France) has launched two defense research and development (R&D) projects that it is coordinating as part of the 2021 European Defence Fund (EDF). In July 2022, the European Commission selected, among others, eight collaborative projects that Airbus is part of, covering different innovative technology areas. The EDF promotes cooperation among European companies and research institutes of different sizes and geographical origin in the European Union (EU), strengthening the resiliency and strategic autonomy of Europe.

Among the 61 collaborative defense research and technology (R&T) and R&D projects that were selected and funded with €1.2 billion, Airbus Defence and Space is coordinating the European Defence Operational Collaborative Cloud (EDOCC) project, while Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, France) is coordinating the EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT). The contracts for these projects were signed in December 2022.

EDOCC will create a virtual platform to increase the interoperability, efficiency and resiliency of military operations, which will strengthen collaborative services on the battlefield. The project will study, design and conceptually validate the virtual platform and develop the first version of a services catalog while identifying appropriate standards and technologies for high performance and interoperability.

ENGRT will focus on analyzing and understanding the needs of European armed forces for rotorcraft operations beyond 2030. The project’s partners will study military rotorcraft concept of operations and define key technologies needed for future military rotorcraft. Alternative rotorcraft concepts and architectures will be explored. This project will pave the way for the next generation of military rotorcraft in Europe.

While materials and processes (M&P) are not mentioned, it can be assumed that ENGRT will likely consider composites M&P to some extent, owing to Airbus’ extensive use of them for the RACER helicopter (see “...complex-cored CFRP fuselage” and “Composites and metal vie for fuselage and driveshafts...”)

Airbus is also a partner in six multinational EDF projects and will contribute with its expertise on the following areas of R&D: Collaborative air combat standardization; enhanced cockpit; European protected waveform for satcom; cyber threat intelligence; advanced radar technologies; and advanced radio frequency components.

The EDF’s target is to allocate €8 billion until 2027.