GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The proposed project should improve civilian capabilities on:

• enabling existing knowledge (mapping and integrating data from historical maps and more recent data, including reports from sea operators); comparative analysis of legislation, roles and responsibilities in Member States;
• detecting UXO on and below the marine sediment/seabed, in order to detect also buried objects;
• identifying, classifying, assessing (identifying chemical and material aspects; sensing levels of corrosion);
• inspecting and handling (grab and manipulate UXO under water, from intact shells to chunks to small parts; collect and recovery);
• neutralising and disposing (containment of chemical spill overs and possible explosions).

Especially for proposing new solutions for the capabilities areas a) to c) described above, proposals should take into account and build on existing information produced and compiled by previous EU projects that carry out regular work on environmental risks of hazardous submerged objects such as UXO. For objectives in the capabilities areas d) and e) described above, proposals should focus on the solutions that address the civil needs and challenges of UXOs (not necessarily deriving from mine countermeasures), with regard to civil resources and engaging civil stakeholders.

Research projects should consider, build on (if appropriate) and not duplicate previous research or findings of previous operational work, including but not limited to research by other Framework Programmes projects and/or other EU projects, including those funded by the EU Maritime and Fisheries Fund, by the European Defence Fund and its precursors (the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) and the Preparatory Action on Defence research (PADR)), or by JPI Ocean. Relevant work by civilian national or regional projects, or by regional organisations (such as, for example, NATO/CMRE Research Centre).

The project should focus on civilian capability gaps and needs, rather than capabilities that are better addressed by defence instruments and tasks.

Examples of technologies and approaches that can be explored by the research projects include (non-prescriptive and non-exhaustive): sonars and other sensors; UxVs/AUVs; on-board analytical capabilities for material samples; hydroacoustic profiling; artificial intelligence for detection and classification; wing tows from ships; system of systems architecture.

Synergies within civil security can be an asset, for example with Fighting Crime and Terrorism (regarding combating organised crime and terrorism) and Disaster-Resilient Society (regarding environmental contamination).