NATO DIANA’s Growing Network Advances Dual-Use Defence Technology

Defence advantage increasingly begins far from the traditional factory floor. A secure communications tool, an autonomous platform, or an energy innovation developed for commercial markets can also address urgent security needs. For NATO, the challenge is no longer simply finding new ideas, but proving which ones can perform under real operational pressure.

Designed to meet that challenge, DIANA is NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic. Its footprint includes sixteen innovation hubs and a network of over 200 evaluation facilities, supporting innovators as they refine dual-use solutions for defence and security needs.

DIANA’s growing network gives innovators testing reach

DIANA’s 2026 Challenge Programme is its largest cohort to date. It brings together 150 innovators from 24 NATO countries, selected to work on ten critical defence and security challenges. The companies began their acceleration journey in January, supported through regional kick-off events across the Alliance.

Their focus spans energy and power, advanced communications, contested electromagnetic environments, critical infrastructure and logistics, maritime operations, resilient space operations, autonomy and unmanned systems, and data-assisted decision-making. Each area reflects a practical challenge for forces operating in rapidly changing conditions.

The network gives those innovators more than visibility. DIANA provides contractual funding, specialist mentoring, links with military end-users and access to facilities designed for testing, evaluation, validation and verification.

In NATO defence technology, an idea gains value when it can demonstrate performance against operational needs. The expanding network is therefore central to DIANA’s purpose: helping promising technologies move from commercial ingenuity towards credible defence relevance.

How dual-use technology reaches defence adoption

At DIANA’s heart is one principle: civilian innovation can contribute to security. NATO defines dual-use technologies as technologies focused on commercial markets and uses that may also have defence and security applications. In the dual-use technology defence landscape, that distinction matters. It broadens the pool of innovators capable of addressing Alliance needs.

An example shows the model moving beyond acceleration. In April 2026, DIANA, acting on behalf of Defence Research and Development Canada, awarded an R&D contract to HonuWorx, an Aberdeen-based company specialising in undersea robotics. NATO described it as the first R&D contract awarded on behalf of an Ally through DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service.

The Aberdeen-based company is assessing how its subsea robotic technology could operate in deeper waters. Originally conceived for offshore oil operations, the system is now being evaluated for potential Canadian defence research applications, including deepwater power and data infrastructure, as well as testing emerging technologies for undersea environments.

An undersea project from HonuWorx shows NATO dual-use technology at work: an offshore-industry innovation examined against a defined defence need. DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service supports NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan, which seeks technology adoption timelines of no more than 24 months.

Faster innovation strengthens NATO’s defence readiness

DIANA’s growing network offers NATO a practical way to bring innovation closer to defence use. Through accelerator sites, test centres, mentors and end-users, innovators can test claims, refine systems and show whether commercial ideas can answer demanding security challenges.

That opportunity comes with a test of success. Network growth is valuable only when promising technologies become validated, usable capabilities. Not every prototype will progress, nor should it. Rigorous assessment gives dual-use innovation credibility and helps Allied decision-makers identify solutions worth advancing.

For NATO, the opportunity is to build a stronger innovation pipeline: one that invites more specialist companies to address defence challenges, gives Allies greater visibility into tested technologies, and shortens the distance between invention and responsible adoption. As DIANA’s network grows, its most important measure of progress will be the capabilities it helps mature for a safer, more resilient Alliance.