EIC STEP Defence
EIC STEP Defence supports SMEs and small mid-caps with equity investment to scale and commercialise critical defence technologies, attract larger funding rounds and reduce EU strategic dependencies.
Funder: European Innovation Council
Due Dates: December 1, 2026 (Opening) | June 1, 2027, 17:00 Brussels time (Full application)
Funding Amounts: €10 million–€30 million in equity-only investment per company; €100 million total budget
Summary: EIC STEP Defence supports companies scaling critical defence technologies through equity investment that catalyses larger funding rounds.
Key Information: A single qualified investor must pre-commit at least 20% of the target funding round.
Description
EIC STEP Defence is a European Innovation Council programme under Horizon Europe supporting SMEs and small mid-caps developing and commercialising critical defence technologies. It provides direct equity investment to accelerate industrial scale-up and attract larger investment rounds. Innovations must bring an emerging, cutting-edge element with significant economic potential to the internal market or reduce or prevent the Union’s strategic dependencies.
The call focuses on products, technologies and services with a primary defence application. Its 11 priority areas cover air and missile defence, artillery and precision strike, missiles and ammunition, drones and counter-drones, strategic enablers, cyber and electronic warfare, military mobility, ground combat, maritime systems, air combat, and medical countermeasures. Predominantly civilian or dual-use solutions should instead consider the general EIC STEP Scale Up call.
