Factsheet-Drones-and-C-UAS.pdf — page 2

© European Union, 2025
Reuse of this document is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 
International license). For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the EU, permission may need to be sought directly 
from the respective right holders.
Images © European Union, © Adobe Stock.
Luxembourg, Publication Office of the European Union, 2025
Print    ISBN 978-92-68-35017-1
doi: 10.2889/9293108   HV-01-25-029-EN-C
PDF    ISBN 978-92-68-35016-4
doi: 10.2889/5295776   HV-01-25-029-EN-N
When will EDF project results be translated into military capabilities?
The EU Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 identifies drones and counter-drone systems as one of the key capability areas 
for strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and operational readiness. In this context, the European Drone Defence
Initiative and the Eastern Flank Watch have been launched as flagship projects to reinforce air and border defence, protect 
critical infrastructure, and enhance resilience against unmanned and hybrid threats.
Complementing these efforts, key EDF actions are strengthening EU leadership in this domain by building a connected 
ecosystem that links research, development, and would facilitate scalable production. A total of €1 billion from the EDF and 
its precursor programmes has been dedicated to a wide range of drone-related research and development actions.
Successful project examples include LOTUS, ALTISS, HYBRID, REACT II, E-CUAS and SMALL UAS. The HYBRID project 
focuses on developing a long-endurance, hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric drone. REACT II builds on the results of 
REACT I to advance Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) capabilities, equipping the EU with critical electronic warfare systems to 
counter drone threats. E-CUAS, the successor to the successful JEY-CUAS initiative, is developing next-generation counter-
drone capabilities by integrating multiple technologies, including passive and active sensors, soft- and hard-kill effectors, 
command and control components, networking and communications infrastructure, cybersecurity features, and interoperability 
data models. Finally, the SMALL UAS project is developing an advanced, AI-driven swarm system composed of unmanned 
aerial systems designed for multi-domain operations.
Projects from precursor programme EDIDP 
delivering first results
EDF projects expected to deliver results by 2030
MALE RPAS
European Medium Altitude 
Long Endurance Remotely 
Piloted Aircraft System 
EU financing: €98.115M
LOTUS
Low Observable 
Tactical Unmanned 
air System
EU financing: €8.7M
ALTISS
Autonomous Light Intelligence & Surveillance 
System = Highly Automated Swarm of Affordable 
ISR Long Endurance UAVs 
EU financing: €2.5M
HYBRID
Hydrogen Battlefield 
Reconnaissance and 
Intelligence Drone
EU financing: €3.1M
Small UAS
Small UAS
EU financing: €10.99M
REACT II
Responsive Electronic 
Attack for 
Cooperation Tasks II
EU financing: €40M
E-CUAS
European Counter 
Unmanned Aerial 
Systems
EU financing: €43M
Main advantages of using drones and C-UAS
Enhanced 
reconnaissance 
and surveillance
Rapid 
production and 
deployment
Real-time 
situational 
awareness
Reduced risk to 
human operators
Precision 
targeting and 
strike capability
Cost-effective 
force multiplier
Vulnerability to 
electronic warfare 
and hacking
Risk of collateral 
damage or 
misidentification
Ethical and legal 
accountability 
gaps
Escalation of 
autonomous 
warfare
Proliferation 
to non-state 
actors
Dependence on GPS 
and communication 
links
Main vulnerabilities arising from the use of drones and C-UAS