The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council on the Programme for agile and rapid defence innovation (AGILE), to bring disruptive defence technology from the lab to the field at record speed.
The Commission proposed the new €115 million pilot funding tool, AGILE in March 2026. It is set to accelerate the development and testing of disruptive defence innovations and their market uptake, such as artificial intelligence, quantum and drones, focusing on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups and scale-ups.
Today's agreement will allow AGILE to be launched already in early 2027, helping to rapidly deliver emerging and disruptive defence products developed by New Defence Players to Member States and associated countries, so that they can develop, test and deploy new technologies and cost-efficient solutions much faster than currently possible, in response to the urgent defence needs they face.
The speed with which the European Parliament and the Council reached this agreement reflects their shared commitment to the timely delivery of the programme, in line with the agility that AGILE is designed to bring to Europe's defence innovation ecosystem.
Next steps
The agreed Regulation text will now enter into the formal adoption process by the European Parliament and the Council over the coming weeks, to ensure its rapid entry into force.
The instrument is expected to be operational from early 2027 to ensure the rapid delivery of innovative defence solutions to Member States and associated third countries.
Background
In recent years, the European Union has stepped up efforts to strengthen defence research and development, notably through the European Defence Fund (EDF) , which promotes cooperative, cross-border projects. Within this framework, the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) supports start-ups and SMEs, while the Hub for EU Defence Innovation (HEDI) , launched by the European Defence Agency, strengthens cooperation among Member States and stakeholders. Together, these instruments provide a solid basis for collaborative defence innovation in Europe.
At the same time, additional efforts are needed to complement existing tools with more agile mechanisms. Recent initiatives, including the Preserving Peace – Readiness Roadmap 2030 and the White Paper for the Future of European Defence – Readiness 2030 , stress the need to accelerate innovation and uptake of new technologies.
In this context, the EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap calls for a more speed, agility and risk-taking across the European defence ecosystem, and highlights the need for new, more responsive support instruments, paving the way for the AGILE programme.
