armasuisse – Research Program Security

Within the DDPS, the Science and Technology (S+T) division of the Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse) is the technological center and thereby responsible for providing the necessary technological expertise for the armed forces. It explores and develops future-oriented security-relevant solutions by assessing and testing current and future systems and technologies, creating innovative solutions, researching cutting-edge technologies and finally consulting the armed forces on the military potential of the solutions.

One measure under the armament policy strategy is the development of a strategic cooperation with the ETH Domain, focusing on specific issues facing the armed forces, in order to make better use of synergies in research and innovation in the civilian, military and dual-use sectors. In May 2026, the ETH Board decided to support the expansion of this cooperation and it also discussed and approved the relevant framework conditions.

As part of this cooperation, the “Research Program Security” was launched in 2025 through a series of calls for proposals open to all institutions within the ETH Domain. EPFL will manage the program in collaboration with armasuisse S+T. The program’s goal is to identify and develop innovative ideas and solutions to address current and future security and defense challenges. Key thematic areas include fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum technologies, autonomous systems and robotics, cybersecurity, communication and secure networks, materials science, as well as energy.

Call for proposals

The thematic challenges for this second call for proposals are:

1. Agent-agnostic Detection of unknown Biological and Chemical Agents
2. Resilient Mobile Energy Supply and Decentralized Energy Logistics

The Research Program Security will support projects for a period of 12 to 18 months, with a maximum funding amount of CHF 250k (including overheads).

Eligibility and Application Process

The call for proposals is open to the ETH Domain community as follows:

• Open to faculty members or unit head/group leaders as main applicants. Other scientists (excl. PhDs) can apply as co-applicants.
• Projects must be hosted by an ETH Domain laboratory or research group and supported by at least one faculty member (Prof. tit., MER, PATT, PA or PO) or unit head/group leader.
• Applicants may submit only one proposal per topic as the main applicant. However, applicants may participate in multiple proposals as co-applicants.
• There are no restrictions on the number of applicants involved; proposals may be submitted by individual applicants or consortia (collaboration between ETH Domain institutions is possible).
• Projects should not involve third parties (as main/co-applicant or project partner).

Submission Deadline

The application deadline for this call for proposals is Monday 30 November 2026 (17:00 CET).

Applicant workshop

An online applicant workshopwill take place on Tuesday 20 October 2026 from 11:00 to 12:00 CET.

The registration form is available here.

For further information, please have a look at the Research Program Security website.

For additional questions, please contact the Research Office via [email protected].