Digital Europe Programme · European Union

Strengthening European Cybersecurity Technologies, Capacities and Preparedness — Dual-use technologies

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The EU's Digital Europe Programme programme expects to make 3 awards of €3 million – €5 million each, from a total budget of €10 million. Applications close on 14 Jan 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

Deadline: 14 Jan 2027 (in 60 days)
Grant amount: €3 million – €5 million per project
Total budget: €10 million
Funding rate: Varies by programme — see the call conditions
Total budget: €10 million
Expected awards: 3
Type of action: DIGITAL JU Simple Grants · DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based
Likely applicant types: Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL)
Reference: DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11-DUALUSE
Call: DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11
Last checked: 14 Nov 2026

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Expected outcome

• Secure Data Sharing Framework: Develop standardised and encrypted communication mechanisms to facilitate seamless data exchange between civilian and military stakeholders. These mechanisms should align with GDPR and other EU regulatory requirements.

• Early Warning Systems (EWS): Establish a European-level EWS for cyber and hybrid threats. These systems should integrate real-time monitoring tools and predictive analytics to pre-emptively identify and neutralise cyber and hybrid threats targeting critical infrastructure.

• Collaborative Training Programmes: Design joint training programmes that incorporate AI and cybersecurity scenarios for both civilian (including law enforcement) and military personnel. These programmes should address sector specific needs and hybrid threat scenarios.

• Integrated Threat Detection Systems: Deploy unified threat detection systems leveraging AI, ZTA, and Digital Twins for cross-sectoral application, targeting current and emerging cyber and hybrid threats.

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• Cross-Sector Security Standards: Develop harmonised cybersecurity standards for dual-use technologies to ensure interoperability and scalability across EU Member States and propose EU-wide frameworks for harmonising cybersecurity standards, ensuring seamless integration of civilian and military technologies.

• Stakeholder Collaboration and Integration: Facilitate partnerships among diverse stakeholders, including national authorities, SMEs, academia, and industry stakeholders to foster innovation and deployment of dual-use solutions.

Objective:

Dual-use technologies have emerged as a cornerstone in addressing both cybersecurity threats and broader cyber defence needs. The integration of advanced civilian and military technologies under a unified framework is critical to bolstering resilience across critical infrastructure, ensuring data security. In addition, addressing cybercrime and hybrid threats will contribute to maintaining societal stability.

Cross fertilisation and spill-over effects from synergies between the civil and defence spheres have proven to be an important driver for innovation, industrial deployment and market uptake. Such effects should also be fostered for cybersecurity and cyber defence. The results could lead to increased resilience to cyber threats and better protection of both civilian and defence critical infrastructures.

Building on Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, and the European Defence Fund, the EU must prioritise collaborative…

Scope

The objective is to enhance operational cooperation between the civil and defence spheres through the development of dual-use working prototypes, ready-to-market products and operational infrastructures related to cybersecurity technologies, applications and tools that have relevance in both civilian and defence context.

Examples of domains of interest for this call topic are:

• Quantum-Safe Cryptography: Develop encryption methods resistant to quantum computing attacks. These solutions will ensure secure communication and data protection for critical civilian and military infrastructures.

• Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA): Implement ZTA frameworks to enhance endpoint security and prevent unauthorised access to critical systems. These architectures can serve both civilian applications (e.g. healthcare, finance) and defence systems.

• AI-Driven Threat Detection and Response: Deploy advanced AI tools for real-time threat detection, mitigation and response. AI can be leveraged for anomaly detection in critical networks, adaptive defence mechanisms, and predictive risk assessments. AI-driven threat detection systems can enhance the ability of stakeholders, including Law Enforcement Authorities, to analyse large datasets and identify patterns of malicious activity. These systems also enable real-time prioritisation of actionable intelligence and can support investigations across sectors. Ethical considerations, including compliance with the GDPR and AI Act, must guide their deployment.

Read the full text

• Cyber Ranges including Digital Twins for Cybersecurity: Use Cyber Ranges solutions and Digital Twin technology to simulate potential cyberattacks on civilian and military systems and networks. This enables proactive identification of vulnerabilities and the development of effective response strategies. This would enhance the capacities of a wide range of stakeholders, including Law Enforcement Authorities.

• Advanced SOAR Tools: Develop Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms to streamline incident response across sectors.

Other cybersecurity domains where the civil and defence spheres have a common interest in developing working systems together will also fall within the scope of this call topic.

The above domains are expected to be demonstrated and deployed for (but not limited to):

• Critical Infrastructure Protection: For example, deploy dual-use AI-driven tools to monitor and secure critical infrastructures such as undersea critical infrastructure, transportation networks, communication networks, energy grids, and healthcare systems against cyber and physical threats.

• Secure Communications: For example, utilise quantum-safe communication protocols to protect sensitive data exchanges between civilian and defence stakeholders.

• Hybrid Threat Management: For example, design systems capable of countering hybrid threats, such as GPS jamming and spoofing, cable sabotage, ransomware attacks combined with disinformation campaigns, ensuring…

Topics

Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, multi agent systems Cybersecurity Cybersecurity Domains Defence Digital twins Quantum Technologies (e.g. computing and communication) AI-driven threat detection Civil-Military cooperation Civil-defence cooperation Cross-sector security standards Digital forensics Dual-use technologies Early Warning System Encryption Endpoint security Hybrid threat management Integrated threat detection Quantum-safe communication Quantum-safe cryptography

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
Check the topic conditions for the minimum number of partners.
Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where applicants must be based: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where to apply: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	14 January 2027 “Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).”	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Total budget	€10 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Who can apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Where to apply	Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.