EUR 1 billion from the European Defence Fund is being used for drone and counter-drone prototypes.
75% confidence
DefenceEuropean Union
Omissions
The EUR 1 billion figure refers to cumulative EDF funding for unmanned systems over multiple years (since 2021), not a single annual allocation specifically for drones.
The funding covers 71 projects including eight prototypes and twenty more planned, not solely counter-drone prototypes.
The European Commission announced over EUR 1 billion for the 2025 EDF Work Programme for general next-generation defence technologies, not exclusively for drones.
The European Defence Fund has a total budget of nearly EUR 7.3 billion for 2021-2027, with EUR 2.7 billion for research and EUR 5.3 billion for development and acquisition.
Source from euperspectives.eu was published on January 11, 2026 (after the session date of January 22, 2026 appears to be an error in the source - the article actually states January 2026 which would be before the session date).
The EUR 910 million figure for the 2024 EDF edition represents the annual call funding, separate from the cumulative drone-specific allocation.
PrimaryEuropean Commission - Defence Industry and SpaceThe Fund has a budget of nearly EUR 7.3 billion for 2021-2027, with EUR 2.7 billion for collaborative defence research and EUR 5.3 billion for development and acquisition
SecondaryEU PerspectivesMore than a billion of overall EDF budget so far financed unmanned systems: 71 projects, eight prototypes in hand and twenty on the drawing board