Defence & Military II (EN)
What is NATO DIANA — and how can companies join the accelerator?
DIANA is the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, NATO’s innovation network for dual-use technology. It supports companies whose technology has reached roughly TRL 4 to 7 with non-dilutive grants, mentoring and access to more than 200 test centres. Companies apply through the thematic challenges that DIANA publishes on its website.
Related services
Structure and locations
DIANA was agreed at the 2021 NATO summit in Brussels and became operational in 2023 with its first pilot challenge programmes. It is headquartered in London and runs a regional hub in Tallinn and a North American office in Halifax.
The network itself is provided by the allies: 16 accelerator sites and over 200 test and evaluation centres are available to participants. Germany contributes the Palladion Defence Accelerator at the Bundeswehr University in Munich together with 20 test centres (as of July 2026).
How the programme works
DIANA does not run a permanent open application window. Instead it publishes challenges on defined capability areas — three pilot challenges in 2023, five in 2024 and ten in 2025, covering fields such as sensing, energy, autonomy and secure communications.
- A challenge is published with a problem statement and a deadline
- A cohort is selected by panels drawn from science, industry and the armed forces
- Selected teams enter the accelerator: mentoring, access to test infrastructure, contact with military end users
- A follow-on phase is available to selected teams
Funding takes the form of non-dilutive grants, so DIANA takes no equity. Amounts, duration and deadlines are set individually for each cohort — always read the current call rather than an older summary.
Who can apply — and what suppliers gain
The programme targets startups and small or medium-sized companies from allied nations working on dual-use technology at roughly TRL 4 to 7 — from a component validated in the laboratory to a system prototype demonstrated in an operational environment. Pure weapons development is not the subject of the programme.
Applicants should be able to evidence three things: the actual maturity of the technology, a clear link to the published challenge, and the ability to deliver working hardware or software within the programme period. Concept-only proposals rarely survive the selection stage.
For machining and welding shops DIANA is not a funding route but a source of demand. Teams at this stage of maturity need prototype parts, fixtures, housings and test rigs in very small quantities and at short notice — with frequent drawing revisions along the way.
Key points
- DIANA is NATO’s accelerator network for dual-use technology, not for weapons development.
- The target maturity range is roughly TRL 4 to 7.
- 16 accelerator sites and over 200 test centres; Germany contributes Palladion and 20 test centres.
- Applications are only possible through the current challenge calls.
Related questions
Does a company need prior defence experience?
No. DIANA explicitly looks for civil technology with military relevance. What counts is the maturity of the technology, the robustness of the solution and its fit with the published challenge — not a track record of working with armed forces.
What does a non-dilutive grant mean?
The money is paid as a grant and the funder takes no shares in the company, so ownership stays unchanged. This is the key difference from the NATO Innovation Fund, which invests equity as a venture capital fund.
What are the test centres used for?
They provide rigs, measurement equipment and evaluation environments that a young company could not finance on its own — climate and vibration testing, EMC laboratories or open-air ranges. That allows prototypes to be qualified under realistic conditions.
More questions
Discuss your part with us
Have a drawing or a 3D model and need a reliable assessment of feasibility, material and lead time? Send us your documents and we will come back to you with a concrete answer.