On June 3, 2026, the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, announced the second public tender under the Program to Support Applied Research and Innovation in the Defense Industry (PRODEF), Subprogram 2 „National Public Competitions in Defense Research". The deadline for submitting project proposals is July 22, 2026.
The parameters of the 2nd public tender of the PRODEF Program can be found HERE.
The public call for proposals in subprogram 2 is focused on supporting applied research and innovation projects in the field of modern emerging and breakthrough technologies applicable to the needs of the Czech Armed Forces. The results of the projects will have high potential for application in a number of civilian and military areas, so-called dual use (use for civilian and military purposes). In particular, results of applied research and experimental development are expected, such as prototypes, functional samples, software, verified technologies, and other results with direct application potential in the defense sector.
Research organizations and companies (small, medium, and large) may apply for support. The program is designed to foster intensive collaboration between the research community and the defense industry and to accelerate the transfer of research results into practice. Each project proposal must include at least one enterprise (small, medium, or large). A company may carry out the project independently or in collaboration with other participants.
Priority Research Areas
The Ministry of Defense has identified six priority research areas into which project proposals must fall thematically:
1. Digital command, control, and data-driven decision-making
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use of artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, decision-making support, C4ISR systems.
2. Unmanned platforms and autonomous systems
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ground, air, and maritime unmanned systems, autonomy, swarm coordination, navigation, and control.
3. Force protection against unmanned systems
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detection and identification of drones, electronic warfare, active and passive defensive measures against UAS.
4. Energy management and alternative mobility of military systems
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new energy sources, energy self-sufficiency, energy storage, hybrid and alternative propulsion systems.
5. Information resilience of the armed forces
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cybersecurity, protection of information systems, resilience to disinformation and information operations.
6. Effective cooperation between soldiers and technological systems
- human-machine teaming, augmented and virtual reality, soldier decision support systems, enhancing situational awareness.
In this public tender, the Ministry of Defense ensures the application of the project’s outputs and results . Applicants must obtain confirmation from the Ministry of Defense of its interest in utilizing the results (Letter of Intent / confirmation from the application guarantor), which is part of the project preparation. Please send requests for application guarantees to the email: michal.zatloukal@mo.gov.cz by June 30, 2026. For more information on submitting an application for an application guarantee, please visit the TA ČR website.
This public call for proposals will be announced in the TA ČR shared information system – SISTA.
In order for an applicant to create and submit a project proposal, they must meet the system’s new technical requirements– e.g., register their organization and designate its administrators. Without registering the organization and adding administrators, it will not be possible to submit a project proposal or draw public funds for applied research projects. We have covered all the new technical requirements in detail at this article, so we recommend paying close attention to it.
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UP is already registered in the system. Any questions or issues regarding UPOL’s participation in SISTA are handled by PSUP. Please contact me via email: ludmila.hrabakova@upol.cz, or by phone at 585 631 404.
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For project registration purposes, please note that it is necessary to make the project proposal available in SISTA via email:& ludmila.hrabakova@upol.cz. Without this step, it will not be possible to ensure adequate cooperation from UPOL when submitting the project proposal. Projects in which UPOL acts only as a partner must also be made available.
The competition period begins on June 4, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. and ends on July 22, 2026, at the times listed below:
- 4:29:59 p.m. – is the latest possible time for submitting a project proposal via the information system SISTA;
- 11:59:59 p.m. – is the latest possible time for submitting documents proving eligibility, which each applicant must submit separately.
All documents related to 2. the public competition are available on the public competition page here.
Those interested in assistance with submitting a grant application may also contact staff at the Project Service of Palacký University in Olomouc. https://www.upol.cz/ps/kontakty/. We’ll be happy to help you.
Source: TA ČR