Europe Mulls Boosting Military R&D with Civilian Science Funding
Elise Cutts | 12 August 2025 | Science
At a new interdisciplinary center for marine research in France, researchers are figuring out how to get swarms of autonomous floating robots to work together to form a vast, underwater antenna. The research could unlock new ways for civilian scientists to study ocean currents or track marine mammals. It could also help the military keep tabs on what’s going on above and below the waves.
Many European institutions have traditionally shied away from the kind of “dual-use” research taking place at the Polytechnic Institute of Paris (IP Paris) center, which receives support from both France’s civil research agency and the Ministry of Armed Forces. But as the war in Ukraine rages on and U.S. President Donald Trump’s mercurial stance toward Europe crumbles faith in the trans-Atlantic alliance, EU leaders are looking for ways to boost the bloc’s defense capabilities—and they are eyeing the billions in funding that now go to civilian science…