Deadline Date: May 19, 2026
The European Commission is seeking applications to support the development and demonstration of airborne-ready lidar sensor concepts to enhance aircraft efficiency and reduce structural loads.
The focus areas include developing and demonstrating TRL5 maturity for key lidar sub-systems and their integration in constrained volumes, delivering validated three-dimensional wind reconstruction algorithms capable of real-time operation and integration with aircraft flight control systems, creating a validated simulation and verification platform coupling wind measurements to gust load alleviation functions, establishing a robust plan for future industrialization with system architecture, and defining a roadmap towards TRL6 demonstration including certification readiness and flight test implementation.
They are expected to form consortia led by eligible entities with demonstrated expertise in aeronautical research and innovation, while also incorporating additional capabilities beyond traditional domains to address disruptive technologies, including participation from SMEs, start-ups, and research centres. The project must outline a clear TRL progression plan and roadmap aligned with achieving technology readiness suitable for integration into new aircraft by 2035.
Demonstration activities will include system integration testing, environmental testing under realistic conditions, and hardware-in-the-loop validation using representative data. They are required to define testing facilities and ensure cooperation with end-users from the beginning to address performance, integration, and interface requirements, while certification aspects will be managed by industrial end-users with consortium support.
The total indicative funding budget for this topic is EUR 5 million, with a maximum EU contribution of EUR 5 million per project, and up to one project expected to be funded depending on evaluation outcomes and complementarity. The coordinator must be a university, research and technology organisation, or SME, with applicants required to confirm SME status where applicable. The project duration is limited to a maximum of 24 months under Research and Innovation Actions, starting at a minimum TRL4 and achieving TRL5 at sub-system level by completion.
For more information, visit European Commission.
