The European Commission launches a new call for proposals for grants to support the development of affordable user terminals for services under the Union secure connectivity programme - IRIS² - and GOVSATCOM. This is an excellent opportunity for organisations to access funding and contribute to the EU's goal of promoting a competitive and innovative space industry.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 26 August 2026, 17:00 CET.
Who can apply?
The call is open to legal entities established in EU Member States. Applicants must comply with the eligibility, strategic autonomy and security criteria set out in the call document. Although a consortium is not formally required, applicants are encouraged to assemble teams with complementary competences across the relevant value chain.
About the call
In brief, the call aims to strengthen European industrial capability, with a focus on cost reduction, manufacturability, production readiness and supply-chain resilience of Ka-band user terminals.
With an estimated budget of EUR 20,000,000, up to three projects can be funded.
This topic is not intended to develop a specific end-to-end terminal product but rather to ensure the availability of innovative, more affordable and deployable user terminals.
Focus areas
The call focuses on projects addressing one or more of the following areas:
- antenna-subsystem industrial readiness, including assembly, calibration and test processes;
- manufacturing processes and equipment enabling improved throughput, repeatability and unit-cost reduction;
- supply-chain measures reducing critical dependencies on non-European sources and strengthening European industrial capability for terminal components;
- modem and baseband industrial readiness for 5G NR NTN compliant solutions, including migration paths towards volume-production architectures.
Projects can range from 18 to 36 months in duration and must demonstrate a credible contribution to cost-reduction, production scale-up and the strengthening of European industrial capabilities.
How to participate?
Applications must be submitted electronically. For more information on the call for grants, including eligibility criteria, application procedures, and evaluation guidelines, please visit the
EU Funding & Tenders Portal
Details
- Publication date
- 28 May 2026
- Author
- Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space
- Department
- Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space