International defence projects involving Estonian companies and institutions have secured more than €700 million in European Union funding under the latest round of the European Defence Fund, highlighting Estonia’s growing weight in Europe’s defence industry.
A total of 57 international projects were selected for funding in the 2025 calls, with the EU allocating more than €1 billion overall. Of those, 26 projects involve Estonian partners. Together, those projects account for more than half of the total funding awarded in the round. The value of the work packages going directly to Estonian companies exceeds €28 million.
The Estonian defence ministry has also played a role in the outcome, co-financing 12 of the successful projects with more than €1.5 million.
Innovative defence solutions
Siim Sukles, the ministry’s undersecretary for defence industry and innovation, said the results showed that Estonian companies and research institutions had carved out a clear place in the European defence sector.
“Our companies’ expertise and capabilities are being recognised more and more in international competition,” he said. “Compared to the year before, initiatives with Estonian involvement have attracted almost twice as much European funding – more than €700 million. We can also see in these results that the reach of our companies has broadened considerably. Almost every other project that was successful in the 2025 round involves an Estonian company.”
He said the results reflected years of work and growing strength in innovative defence solutions.
From drones and cyber security to surveillance and space
The Estonian participants span a wide range of defence technologies, from cyber and sensors to space, underwater systems, energy and air defence.
The companies and organisations involved include Frankenburg Technologies, Krattworks, DSI, Talgen Cybersecurity, Milrem, Wayren, Falconers, Cafa Tech, Cybernetica, SpaceIT, Skycorp Technologies, Power-Up Fuel Cells, TrackDeep, DefsecIntel, Skudotech and the Estonian Defence Industry Association.
Two of the successful projects are being led from Estonia. The first, Eurodamm, is headed by Frankenburg Technologies and aims to develop a system combining reusable unmanned aerial platforms with munitions to deliver scalable and affordable precision capability in environments where electronic warfare or global navigation satellite system cannot be relied upon.
The second, Stratus – Swarm Threat Resilience and Adaptive Tactical UxV Security – is focused on developing a next-generation virtual cyber-defence system designed to help fleets of unmanned vehicles survive attacks and continue carrying out their missions.
The European Defence Fund is the EU’s main vehicle for defence research and development, with about €8 billion allocated for the period from 2021–2027. The programme is intended to reduce fragmentation in Europe’s defence industry and to strengthen co-operation and competitiveness in military research and development.
