NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator announces largest-ever cohort of 150 innovators to work on ten defence and security challenges in 2026

On Wednesday (10 December), NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) announced the selection of 150 pioneering companies from 24 NATO countries to participate in the 2026 Challenge Programme.

As part of the programme, the selected innovators will develop their dual-use technologies to address ten critical defence and security challenges from key priorities identified by Allies. These are:

• Energy and Power
• Advanced Communication Technologies
• Contested Electromagnetic Environments
• Human Resilience and Biotechnologies
• Critical Infrastructure and Logistics
• Operations in Extreme Environments
• Maritime Operations
• Resilient Space Operations
• Autonomy and Unmanned Systems
• Data Assisted Decision Making

Starting in January 2026, the selected companies will receive contractual funding and gain access to DIANA's expanding network of 16 accelerator sites and more than 200 test centres across the 32 NATO nations. NATO DIANA helps connect companies with military end-users, mentors, and investors, accelerating the development, real-world validation and rapid adoption of their innovations across all NATO nations.

The full list of innovator companies selected for the cohort can be found here.

More information about the challenges can be found at DIANA | Challenges. For any questions on DIANA's announcement, media or guidelines, please contact [email protected].