DIANA encourage all eligible companies that think their technology could help solve one of the challenges to submit a proposal.

Any company incorporated in a NATO member nation, with its headquarters and its principal place of business in a NATO member nation, that is controlled and majority owned by nationals of NATO member nations, is eligible to submit a proposal. We recommend early-stage start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises with limited experience in defence and security to apply, as these companies will be most suited to and benefit most from the programme.

DIANA will accept collaborative proposals as long as all member companies meet the eligibility requirements; a single company must be listed as the lead for the purposes of communication during the submission process, as well as for contracting and reporting requirements, should the proposal be selected.

Universities and non-profit groups are not yet eligible to apply. We anticipate collaboration with universities and other innovative institutions in future programmes.

Companies that signed agreements with DIANA to be part of DIANA cohorts in previous years are not eligible to apply again. Companies that submitted to previous DIANA calls but were unsuccessful are eligible (and encouraged) to reapply. Companies that have applied to the ‘Decision Superiority for NATO Warfighters’ challenge (which closed on 5 May 2026) will receive an outcome notification before the 2027 DIANA Accelerator programme Call closes, and unsuccessful companies will be eligible to apply to the 2027 DIANA Accelerator Programme Call.

DIANA seeks technology solutions at maturity levels typically between Technology Readiness Level (“TRL”) 4-7, as well as higher TRL solutions (i.e. TRL 8+ for civilian applications) that could be adapted to defence and security applications.

DIANA focuses on dual-use and defence-first technologies.

Through a combination of in-person and virtual programme delivery, participants will receive pathway-specific support tailored to their company maturity, technology area, and market objectives.

Companies are not expected to relocate for programme activities, but are expected to travel to their assigned accelerator, or to DIANA-organised programme elements, up to six times throughout the programme.

In addition to this support, innovators participating in the accelerator will receive €100,000 of contractual funding. Regardless of the pathway, innovators may seek, through competitive processes, additional funds for testing, evaluation, validation & verification activities.

The €100,000 of contractual funding is paid in full before the start of the accelerator programme and is awarded to the company, not to individuals. It supports ongoing development of the proposed solution over the first six months and is also used to cover innovators’ travel costs for mandatory training sessions and events forming part of the DIANA Accelerator Programme. No additional funding will be provided to cover travel expenses beyond this allocation.

Mission Track is part of DIANA’s Accelerator Programme and is targeted to innovators that demonstrate strong defence pull and alignment with Allied operational needs. Innovators who are successfully down-selected to join Mission Track may receive up to €300,000 in additional contractual funding to support their adoption and fundraising efforts. Additional testing and validation budgets may also be available.

Innovators selected through DIANA’s Challenge Call may also access:

• 16 accelerator sites across the Alliance, and pathways to market within the NATO enterprise and 32 Allied markets.
• More than 200 test centres across the Alliance where entrepreneurs can de-risk, demonstrate and validate their proposed dual-use technological solutions.
• Mentoring from scientists, engineers, industry partners, end users, and government procurement experts.
• A network of trusted investors with funding to enable scaling.
• Opportunities to demonstrate technology in operational environments.

The Alliance seeks integrated, interoperable, and scalable solutions to protect individuals, mitigate threats, detect degradation early, and sustain human life and performance in contested and extreme environments. Emphasis is on maintaining force effectiveness when evacuation, resupply, and medical support are constrained or disrupted. Human survivability and the life-support chain must be treated as an operational system. Solutions must enable sustained, large-scale operations at high tempo while enhancing protection and situational awareness without increasing cognitive, physical, or logistical burden.

Example technologies include:

• Lightweight, adaptive protection
• AI-assisted triage, routing, and telemedicine support
• Pathogen (or synthetic entity) -agnostic detection of biological and chemical hazards for early warning and response
• Biomanufacturing technologies for fuel, blood, protein, antibiotics, critical chemicals and high-energy materials.
• Exoskeletons and dexterity augmentation to enhance mobility, casualty handling and surgery

Read the full challenge document.

The Alliance seeks interoperable data-driven solutions that enable trusted, scalable, multi-domain autonomy and seamless integration of uncrewed and crewed platforms, allowing secure workflows and a data-rich tasking environment, based on consolidated command, control, communication, cybersecurity, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR).

Example technologies include:

• Autonomous navigation to operate safely and effectively with degraded GNSS, uncertain maps and unknown terrain
• Predictive maintenance and in-situ autonomous repair to reduce downtime and logistics burden
• In-orbit and in-air services to support servicing, replenishment, and extension of uncrewed capabilities in high-altitude and space environments

Read the full challenge document.

The Alliance seeks multidomain sensing and advanced data processing for intelligence and surveillance. It addresses solutions that improve how data is sensed, transferred, integrated, and exploited across heterogeneous sensors, systems, and domains, supporting reliable COP generation across organisations and nations. Relevant approaches may operate at the sensor edge, within distributed networks, or at fusion and decision support nodes.

Example technologies include:

• Multidomain and multi-sensor solutions that detect, track, and monitor objects, activities, or anomalies across land, air, maritime, cyber, and space domains
• Applications relevant to Earth observation, airborne and maritime surveillance, electromagnetic and cyber sensing, and space-based monitoring
• Artificial intelligence enabled analytics to filter noise, correlate heterogeneous data, detect patterns, and support tracking, classification, and assessment across large scale intelligence and surveillance data sets
• Data-centric architectures that enable flexible integration of sensing and intelligence outputs into command-and-control systems

Read the full challenge document.

The Alliance seeks practical, interoperable sensing, communication and positioning, navigation, and timing solutions that maintain operational effectiveness at the tactical edge when connectivity and assured navigation cannot be assumed. Solutions should enable coordination, safe movement and situational awareness and be inherently resilient to spectrum contestation and GNSS denial when deployed across mixed and austere terrain. This includes the detection and classification of adversary communications and assets whilst protecting friendly ones. Together, such capabilities would enhance operational resilience, freedom of action and continuity of operations.

Example technologies include:

• Methods for monitoring spectrum availability, including the detection of lowinterference and under-utilised bands
• Low-probability-of-intercept data links, for example using millimetre and terahertz radiation, that maintain reliable communications in contested environments
• High-bandwidth, interference-resistant terrestrial and space-based communication systems that sustain connectivity when conventional radiofrequency links are degraded or unavailable
• High-sensitivity sensing technologies, including quantum-enabled solutions, for measuring weak signals and detection and ranging with reduced probability of interception under contested conditions
• Inertial measurement units, magnetic sensors and vision-based approaches using terrain and celestial observations that enable accurate navigation without relying on external signals
• Advanced materials and surface treatments that enable electromagnetic signature reduction, including frequency-selective surfaces and metamaterials

Read the full challenge document.

The Alliance seeks smart, interoperable logistic mobility solutions that sustain endurance and freedom of action in dynamic environments, strengthening collective defence and security.

Example technologies include:

• Autonomous logistics planning and optimisation platforms to strengthen end-to-end supply chain resilience, redundancy, and sustainment across contested and disrupted environments
• Operational digital twins for vehicles, systems, and sensors to enable rapid in-field repairs
• Additive manufacturing and repair by addition toolchains, including in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing, to restore critical components without reliance on deep logistics hubs
• Deployable renewable power generation and tactical energy storage to support expeditionary and contested operations, including spacedependent missions
• Packaging and storage systems that are resistant to shock, vibration and extreme environments

Read the full challenge document.

The Alliance is seeking modular, scalable, adaptable and data-integrated countermeasure solutions to protect manoeuvre forces, command posts, logistics hubs and key infrastructure against aerial threats. Solutions must perform in hostile electromagnetic environments characterised by electronic warfare and cyberattacks, and be resistant to non-conventional effects such as laser weapons. Solutions should prioritise multi-sensor detection and data fusion into a shared air picture. Resilient C2 systems, interoperable architectures for coalition operations, and space-based early detection and warning systems are also required as key enablers of the Integrated Air and Missile Defence process.

Example technologies include:

• Low-cost active and passive sensing technologies (e.g. electro-optical, infrared, acoustic, radio-frequency) that enable the persistent detection, tracking and classification of small unmanned aerial systems and other lowsignature threats in cluttered operating environments
• Scalable non-kinetic countermeasure solutions that disrupt or deny access to the electromagnetic spectrum or satellite navigation systems, including protocol-aware intervention and spoofing detection and mitigation to counter massed, low-cost UAS without reliance on limited interceptor stocks
• Modular open architectures and common interfaces enabling the rapid integration, interchange and reconfiguration of sensors, effectors and software across different vendors and nations
• Decision support and automation tools for engagement planning and resource allocation that enable prioritised, timely and cost-aware responses to diverse threats, including UAS, loitering munitions and cruise missiles, under time-critical conditions

Read the full challenge document.