Exclusive: NATO DIANA to overhaul competitions, launch more

NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) will be “redesigning [its] entire programme” of thematic defence-technology challenges to be more agile and responsive from 2027, DSEI Gateway has learnt.  

DIANA is NATO’s “innovation engine” seeking to support companies in developing their technologies for military use, Managing Director, Jyoti Driver, told DSEI Gateway during an interview on 18 September.  

Driver said that the number of companies in DIANA programmes is expected to grow, with the organisation shifting to a new model with "more cycles and more challenges throughout the year". 

In the three years since it was established, DIANA’s operations have primarily involved annual, multi-stage innovation challenges designed to develop industry innovations into military capabilities.  

More opportunity for industry 

Going forward, Driver says that DIANA will be welcoming more companies into its challenges, which will be split between a number of short, three-month sprints, spread throughout the year, alongside some longer calls. 

This, she explained, is intended help the organisation be more responsive to the high pace of change in defence-tech, as being evidenced in Ukraine. 

For industry, it should also boost the number of opportunities, with just 4% – 150 companies – of the thousands who applied, securing places in DIANA’s 2026 intake. 

What else is new for NATO DIANA in 2027? 

As well as a shift in approach to its challenge calls, DIANA will be utilising a recent boost to its budget to bring in additional military staff and run more testing events. 

Driver explained that the additional staff will support a greater emphasis on warfighter requirements and help the organisation remain focused on accelerating relevant technologies at pace. 

In addition, DIANA’s Capital Network – launched in May 2026 – will continue to develop in the coming months, with a pool of screened investors being connected to DIANA’s alumni companies.  

This is intended to help companies further develop and scale their innovations, while surviving ‘the valley of death’ that comes with defence procurement’s traditional long-lead times.  

DIANA's progress to-date 

Since it was established in 2023, DIANA has honed its testing, evaluation, and adoption approach, with over 270 companies having participated in its annual challenge calls. 

In total, Driver says that these companies have secured 202 paid defence contracts since being supported by the organisation. 

DIANA has also developed a Rapid Adoption Service. The service allows end-users to test, evaluate, and procure new DIANA alumni technologies at pace. This helps reduce administrative burdens on national defence ministries when it comes to validation. 

Explaining just how rapid this can be, Driver told DSEI Gateway that "we have placed a contract within three weeks of [a procurement organisation] coming to us".