NATO innovation programme doubles in size
NATO’S innovation hub has announced a massive expansion. (Image: NATO)
DIANA has been leveraging its accelerator programme and test centre network to bring end users together with start-ups, scientific researchers and technology companies for the development of dual-use technological defence and security solutions.
NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), designed to harness dual-use innovation for transatlantic defence and security, has doubled in size with a massive expansion of its transatlantic network of accelerator sites and test centres. New sites will come on onstream in the coming months.
It was announced on 14 March that DIANA’s network would now comprise 23 accelerator sites (up from 11) and 182 test centres (up from 90) in 28 Allied countries, augmenting DIANA’s capacity to support innovators from across the Alliance as they develop their technologies.
DIANA, formed in 2021, has been helping companies with resources, networks and guidance to develop technologies to solve critical defence and security challenges, from operating in denied environments to tackling threats to collective resilience.
The operation has focused on big data, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, quantum, biotechnologies and human enhancement, energy and propulsion, novel materials, and advanced manufacturing and aerospace.
DIANA-affiliated accelerators deliver training, funding and commercial advice to the programme beneficiaries, while the network of test centres provides access to cutting-edge testing facilities.
It has a regional office in London, UK, and will soon be opening a regional office in Halifax, Canada, as well as a regional hub in Tallinn, Estonia.
In November, 44 companies were chosen from more than 1,300 applicants to join DIANA’s accelerator programme. The cohort of innovators were selected to tackle specific challenges on energy resilience, undersea sensing and surveillance, and secure information sharing.
The 44 companies currently follow a detailed curriculum delivered by the five pilot accelerator sites, while developing their proposed technological solutions for identified challenges.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![L3Harris Technologies satellite communications system passes design review]()
L3Harris Technologies satellite communications system passes design review
L3Harris’s Rapidly Adaptable Standards-compliant Open Radio (RASOR) system has been designed to support the connection of service-specified waveforms from Earth to Commercial Satellite Internet (CSI) constellations.
-
![Piercing the fog of war via battlespace management]()
Piercing the fog of war via battlespace management
Battle Management Systems are emerging as increasingly important tools for commanders making decisions in fluid combat situations.
-
![US Army selects Northrop Grumman Athena sensor to improve threat detection capabilities for its aircraft]()
US Army selects Northrop Grumman Athena sensor to improve threat detection capabilities for its aircraft
According to the supplier, Athena is a next-generation missile warning sensor that provides 360-degree situational awareness.
-
![UK Space Command launches first military satellite]()
UK Space Command launches first military satellite
Tyche satellite will deliver military situational awareness for Ministry of Defence decision-making.
-
![Seizing the Future: The Imperative for Militaries to Master AI and Forge Strategic Alliances]()
Seizing the Future: The Imperative for Militaries to Master AI and Forge Strategic Alliances
The current pace of innovation demands a new strategy for success, focusing on developing technology to meet specific defence goals and ensuring collaborative efforts.
-
![In-orbit imaging a “game-changer” in space situational awareness]()
In-orbit imaging a “game-changer” in space situational awareness
As the threats of nuclear weapons in space and the militarisation of the domain persist, an Australian outfit has been developing technology that defence organisations could utilise to identify objects in space to gain a better understand of what they are doing in orbit.
