The European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Steering Board has identified 10 topics that will be studied to see if they are suitable to be considered as ‘Key Strategic Activities’ (KSA) for the European Union.
The topics selected for in-depth industrial examination are:
- Precision strike for land platforms
- Soldier systems
- Next Generation energy/propulsion for air platforms
- Propulsion Systems for Air Platforms
- Counter-UAS (C-UAS)
- Underwater communication within UMS
- Underwater Detection
- 5G for defence
- Quantum technologies (sensing, computing, communication)
- Sensors network with ISR sensors
- Military application of cloud technologies.
With a defined ambition of reaching strategic autonomy in defence and security, the EDA is moving ahead to deepen its technological knowledge and broaden its ability in industrial manufacturing skills.
Once identified, these KSAs will be investigated to provide the EDA’s members with guidance on defence investments “and potentially draw co-financing from relevant EU funding instruments, including the European Defence Fund (EDF).”
Draft reports of findings will be given to participating member states and industry in June 2021, with the finalisation including feedback due three months later in September.
The topics were surfaced following an annual selection cycle on 21 October 2020. They all matched previously “agreed capability and research priority areas identified in the EU Capability Development Priorities (EU CDPs) and the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda Technology Building Blocks (OSRA TBB). In the selection, the Strategic Context Cases (SCC) and the outcome of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) are also taken into account.”
