Last date to apply for Center for Technologies for autonomous swarms of drones

Unmanned autonomous drones are becoming increasingly important for missions in the air, in and on the water, on the ground and in space. Technological development is rapid and the areas of application are increasing. Swarms of many cooperating drones, which together solve advanced missions, are expected to have great importance in the future. Here there are good opportunities for Swedish industry, academia and society to take leading roles. However, research and innovation are required to create usable and robust autonomous drone swarms.

The research will focus on:

• Behavior of advanced autonomous drone swarms – how they cooperate, form, communicate, sense and behave to solve sophisticated missions together.
• Innovative design of, for example, lightweight drones, drones that can withstand extreme climates, propulsion (including battery and engine capacity), sensors and communication systems. The aim is to optimize the conditions for achieving the goal of the drone swarm.
• The center should have a clear vision of versatile drones and reusable modular drone construction for increased sustainability.
• The research should support important Swedish and EU-relevant strategies, such as the AI ​​Commission’s Roadmap for Sweden and the EU’s AI Regulation, and otherwise be ethically defensible.

The center is part of SSF’s initiative on Strategic Research Centers (SRC). The aim is to stimulate collaboration between academia, research institutes, industry and society for sharper results and faster application.

The deadline for applications is January 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM. The project will start between May 1 and October 31, 2026.

Download the call text here!

For further information contact:

Research Secretary Jonas Bjarne, jonas.bjarne@strategiska.se, 08-505 81 673,

Program Manager Joakim Amorim, joakim.amorim@strategiska.se, 08-505 816 65