STEP defence (call No. 02-141-K) is an upcoming Lithuanian grant call of up to €4M per project for companies developing and/or manufacturing defence and dual-use technologies under the EU’s Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). Applications are planned from 31 December 2026 to 31 March 2027. Below: what is officially known, what the ministry has proposed, and how to prepare.
Planned call, preliminary conditions. The call is listed as planned on esinvesticijos.lt; the call description and the project financing conditions (PFSA) have not been published yet. This page separates the official data on esinvesticijos.lt (checked 19 October 2026) from the conditions the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation proposed to the Monitoring Committee in September 2026. The proposal may still change; the final conditions will be set in the PFSA.
| Purpose | Development and/or manufacturing of STEP technologies in defence and security, including special components and special machinery used to make final products |
|---|---|
| Administered by | Innovation Agency Lithuania (responsible: Ministry of the Economy and Innovation); ERDF, STEP priority of the Investment Programme |
| Form of support | Grant |
| Maximum grant per project | €4,000,000 (both regions) |
| Budget | esinvesticijos.lt: €33.2M, of which €10.5M for the Capital region and €22.7M for Central and Western Lithuania. The ministry’s September 2026 proposal: €37.7M (€20.3M / €17.4M), rising to up to €70.9M (€30.8M / €40.1M) if an Investment Programme amendment is approved. The figures differ; the call will set the final ones. |
| Location | Both regions, the Capital region (Vilnius county) and Central and Western Lithuania, with separate budget lines |
| Selection | Competitive |
| Application window (planned) | 31 December 2026, 08:00 – 31 March 2027, 17:00, via the DMS portal (dms.investis.lt) |
STEP defence: who can apply
Officially: companies (private legal entities). The ministry’s September 2026 proposal sets much lower thresholds than the first call, No. 02-130-K:
| Requirement | 02-130-K (first call) | 02-141-K (proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Registered in the Lithuanian Register of Legal Entities | at least 3 years | at least 1 year |
| Financial years assessed | each of the last 3 | the last one only |
| Revenue: micro / small company | €300,000 | €150,000 |
| Revenue: medium-sized company | €500,000 | €250,000 |
| Revenue: large company | €750,000 | €500,000 |
| Group revenue | not counted | may be used (€300K / €500K / €750K) if at least one group company has revenue from defence and security products |
The group-revenue option is aimed at new special-purpose companies that industrial groups set up for defence work: such a company can rely on the group’s track record if the group already sells defence or security products (as defined in the Lithuanian Law on the Defence and Security Industry). The applicant itself must be a company registered in Lithuania.
Eligible activities
The proposal splits the call into two activities:
- Dual-use STEP technologies, development and/or manufacturing, in nine themes: adapting semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure for defence and avionics; autonomous threat-detection systems; data collection and management systems for defence; AI-based autonomous weapon systems; secure and resilient military communication networks; AI-enabled night vision; electromagnetic warfare systems; small communication and reconnaissance satellites; mobile energy storage and backup power for defence.
- Defence-only technologies, manufacturing only (new). The technology must fall within the priority capability areas in section 2.4 of the European Commission’s STEP Guidance No. 2 (C/2025/6798). Development of defence-only technologies is not funded.
In both cases, manufacturing of special components and special machinery used to make final products is eligible; installation and deployment of final products is not.
- Technology readiness: for developing dual-use technologies the proposal requires at least TRL 2 (the first call required TRL 6). No TRL requirement applies to manufacturing.
- What can be manufactured: technology developed by the company itself, or licensed from Ukrainian companies with a permit from the interagency commission on military-technical cooperation and export control of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council. Ukrainian-licensed production must take place in Central and Western Lithuania.
Eligible costs and aid intensity
esinvesticijos.lt currently shows “information being prepared”: eligible costs, aid intensity and own contribution will be published in the call description and PFSA. One point to watch: development is defined as experimental development under GBER, while work from roughly TRL 2 to 4 counts as industrial research under the same regulation, with different aid rates. How this is reconciled will only be clear from the PFSA.
Priority criteria
Points and weights will be set in the PFSA. The proposal includes these criteria:
| Criterion | How it is assessed (proposal) |
|---|---|
| Project efficiency: the highest-scoring criterion | Share of private investment in the project: X = private investment / eligible costs × 100%. The bigger your own share, the more points. Asking for a lower aid rate moves you up the ranking. |
| Job creation | Kept, but no longer the top-scoring criterion. |
| Contribution to the resilience of EU strategic value chains (new) | Whether the project creates or expands EU production capacity for strategic technologies, integrates the company into an EU value chain, replaces or diversifies critical supply with high geographic concentration, creates a new EU source of supply or cross-border cooperation links. Exports or a foreign partner alone earn no points. |
| Priority technologies (new) | Extra points for developing or manufacturing: (1) semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure for defence and avionics; (2) drones of all classes, swarm systems, jammers, counter-drone systems; (3) AI for command and control, cyber defence, electromagnetic spectrum operations, optronics, RF systems; (4) guided missiles, ammunition, warheads, propellants. |
The first call’s “experience in defence” criterion (NATO or EU defence projects, contracts with the armed forces) is dropped, which helps newcomers to the sector.
What to prepare now
- Decide which activity fits your product, dual-use development and/or manufacturing or defence-only manufacturing, and which priority technology it belongs to.
- Decide what share of private investment the company can commit: it drives the top-scoring criterion.
- If a new group company will run the project, check that the group has revenue from defence or security products.
- For foreign groups: the applicant must be a Lithuanian-registered company, at least 1 year old under the proposal. If you do not have one yet, timing matters.
- If you plan to license technology from Ukraine, start the permit process early and plan production in Central and Western Lithuania.
How ProBaltic can help
Since 2007 we have helped clients secure €90M+ in non-dilutive funding across 220+ funded projects, including confidential projects in defence and security. For this call we offer an eligibility and positioning assessment now, before the PFSA is published, followed by the full cycle: project concept and budget, the application with annexes, support during evaluation and project administration until the final payment. Pricing is a fixed preparation fee plus a success fee on the awarded grant.
Get an eligibility assessment →
Check your eligibility for this call → · General eligibility check for all instruments (self-check tool in Lithuanian)
FAQ
Can I apply now?
No. Call No. 02-141-K is listed as planned on esinvesticijos.lt, with applications expected from 31 December 2026, 08:00 to 31 March 2027, 17:00 via DMS. The call description and PFSA have not been published, so the conditions on this page are preliminary.
Can a company founded less than 3 years ago apply?
Under the ministry’s September 2026 proposal, yes, if it has been registered for at least 1 year and reached the revenue threshold in its last financial year (€150,000 for micro or small, €250,000 for medium-sized, €500,000 for large companies). Alternatively it can rely on group revenue if at least one group company sells defence or security products. The final rule will be in the PFSA.
Can a foreign company apply?
The applicant must be a company registered in Lithuania. A foreign group can apply through its Lithuanian subsidiary, including a new special-purpose company that relies on group revenue under the proposed rules.
Can we manufacture under a licence?
Under the proposal, only technology developed by the company itself, or technology licensed from Ukrainian companies with a permit from the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council’s interagency commission, may be manufactured. In the Ukrainian case, production must take place in Central and Western Lithuania. Licences from other countries do not qualify.
Can Vilnius-based companies take part?
Yes. The call has a separate budget line for the Capital region (€10.5M according to esinvesticijos.lt). The exception is manufacturing of Ukrainian-licensed technology, which under the proposal must be located in Central and Western Lithuania.
What is the aid rate?
Aid intensity and own contribution have not been published yet. Under the proposal, the highest score goes to projects with a larger private investment share, so a bigger own contribution moves a project up the ranking.
Where are the official call details?
On esinvesticijos.lt (in Lithuanian). We will update this page when the call description and PFSA are published.
This page is for information only and reflects official data and the ministry’s published proposal as of 19 October 2026; decisions should be based on the call description and PFSA once published. Lithuanian version: STEP defence (LT). Other open calls: funding calls.