Canada advances defence innovation through NATO DIANA

March 12, 2026 - Defence Stories

Estimated read time - 1:47

On February 23, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General (Gen) Jennie Carignan visited the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) office in Halifax, Nova Scotia which opened in October 2024. The goal of her visit was to learn more about how the Alliance is speeding up the delivery of new technologies.

Founded in 2021, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) DIANA is designed to strengthen the Alliance's technological edge by finding, accelerating, and delivering new defence capability solutions.

The visit highlighted Canada's growing role in NATO innovation efforts. Each year, DIANA issues a challenge call that invites companies to propose solutions to real and emerging issues facing Allied forces.

After an intense three phase selection process, innovators enter a six-monthaccelerator program that helps mature their business and technology and align their efforts with the needs of the defence industry. In some cases, solutions can move into production in as little as 12 months.

"By clearly defining our challenges, inviting non-traditional innovators to propose solutions, rigorously selecting the best, and equipping them with a purpose-built curriculum, test centres, resources, and direct access to defence end users, DIANA is accelerating the path from ideas to prototypes and into operational capability," said Major-General (MGen)Paul Peyton, Military Deputy Director for NATO DIANA - North America. He noted that this speed is critical to maintaining NATO's collective defence and technological advantage.

Some innovators also take part in military operations and exercises. Working directly with end users allows them to refine their technologies and move closer to adoption by an Allied nation.

Through DIANA's Rapid Adoption Service, Allied nations can enter research, prototype, or production contracts with innovators without the need for lengthy and resource intensive competitive processes.

Canada's engagement includes strong participation from industry, academia, and defence end users. Canadian innovators led the Alliance with the number of program applications submitted this year and 22 of the 150 companies selected for NATO DIANA's 2026 cohort are Canadian.

Innovators follow the accelerator curriculum at one of 16 sites across NATO, including COVE in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. For testing and validation, they can also access more than 200 test centres across the Alliance, 16 of which are in Canada.

The Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence continue to work with NATO DIANA to support trials, validation, and adoption of new technologies.

To learn more about NATO DIANA, visit www.diana.nato.int. To learn more about how NATO DIANA innovators can meet your capability needs, email [email protected].