New abilities in over-the-horizon sensing

Scope:

In order to increase situational awareness and operational superiority, improved detection, tracking and identification capabilities over large areas with increased range and minimum latency are required. High-frequency (HF) over-the-horizon (OTH) systems therefore need to be improved, while an EU concept for a cognitive and scalable network of HF OTH sensors could be further explored.

The objective of this topic is to follow up and complement previous activities in the field of OTH, in particular the development of technologies for an EU OTH radar network concept providing deep cooperation and data sharing for strategic surveillance. In this context, both HF surface (active, cooperative and non-cooperative passive) and skywave radar technologies should be explored and integrated for their respective advantages in terms of area covered at long ranges and as a gap filler in an agile network.

Beyond defence technologies, this topic also contributes to the STEP objectives as defined in the STEP Regulation in the target investment area of deep and digital technologies.

Targeted types of activities: Studies and design, not excluding upstream and downstream activities eligible for development actions.

Indicative budget: EUR 29 000 000 for this topic under the EDF-2026-LS-DA-DIS call.

Indicative number of proposals to be funded: One proposal is to be funded for this topic. However, depending on the quality of the proposals submitted and the budget available, more than one proposal may ultimately be funded for this topic.