EU AGILE Defence Innovation Programme Deal Reached in 2026

AGILE Political Agreement on the Programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation

2026-07-22 Source: Press release European Commission, adapted by 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

GGB Heilbronn GmbH

Fastems Systems GmbH

item Industrietechnik GmbH

The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached on 15 July 2026 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.

Defence innovation is instrumental for European Defence Readiness 2030. In this context, the Commission proposed AGILE, a new €115 million programme, in March 2026. The programme is set to accelerate the development, testing and market uptake of disruptive defence innovative products, focusing on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including start-ups and scale-ups.

The agreement makes it possible to launch AGILE already in early 2027. AGILE will accelerate the delivery of emerging and disruptive defence products developed by New Defence Players to Member States and countries associated to the programme (EEA/EFTA countries and Ukraine). New products will be developed, tested and deployed in weeks or months rather than years, in response to the urgent defence needs they face. AGILE will contribute to the rapid development of cost-efficient defence products and solutions for Member States and associated countries. AGILE will be based on mission-driven challenges defined with Member States. The speed with which the European Parliament and the Council have reached this agreement reflects a shared commitment to the timely delivery of the programme, in line with the speed and agility that AGILE is designed to bring to Europe's defence innovation ecosystem.

Next steps

The instrument is expected to be operational as of 1^st January 2027 to ensure the rapid delivery of innovative defence solutions to Member States and associated third countries. The proposed European Competitiveness Fund will ensure continuity and further expand AGILE.

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.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.