Grant Programme

The Ministry of Defence has been running an annual grant competition for the development of military and dual-use technologies since 2019. The aim of the competition is to support the development of new products and technologies, as well as to promote innovation in priority areas by small and medium-sized enterprises in the Latvian defence and security industry. The grant competition is governed by Regulation No 664 of 22 October 2024 ‘Procedure for the Ministry of Defence to implement project competitions to support the development of military or dual-use products’.

Grant competition 2026

On 4 September 2026, the Ministry of Defence launched a call for applications for its 2026 project competition to support the development of military or dual-use products.

The 2026 call for proposals for the development of military or dual-use products is aimed at providing integrated support for the maintenance of autonomous military platforms, focusing on four areas of supply: data security, mobility, energy efficiency and protection in combat conditions.

  1. Autonomous cyber defence and zero-trust security solutions;

  2. Autonomous military logistics and unmanned transport systems;

  3. Energy-efficient hybrid propulsion and low-observability technologies for military autonomous platforms;

  4. Smart and remotely controlled anti-infantry defence systems.

The total funding available is EUR 2.4 million (up to EUR 300 000 per individual business, up to EUR 500 000 per consortium).

The most significant changes compared with the MoD grant competitions organised in previous years:

  1. In order to support businesses more effectively and reduce the restrictions imposed by the de minimis rules on aid for commercial activities – support for the development of products for military use is, in practice, intended to be granted by means of the derogation provided for in Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, relating to the protection of essential national security interests;

  2. Project applications may be drawn up and submitted by groups of companies or consortia, thereby combining diverse expertise and resources to implement more complex and ambitious projects;

  3. Ukrainian businesses may be involved in project applications, thereby strengthening the strategic partnership between Latvia and Ukraine and facilitating the transfer of Ukraine’s accumulated defence innovation and combat experience. At the same time, the necessary security and governance conditions are maintained, stipulating that Ukrainian partners cannot act as lead partners in the consortium.

Applications for the programme are open until 18 September; the competition rules and information on the required documentation are available in the "Related Documents" section, or by emailing inovacijas@valic.gov.lv.

Related documents