UK Accelerator Selects Eight Firms for NATO DIANA 2026

The UK-based Janus Allies accelerator has confirmed the selection of eight companies for its 2026 NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) programme, reinforcing the Alliance’s growing focus on operating in contested electromagnetic environments.

Delivered by the Janus Allies consortium in partnership with the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), part of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI-DASA), the UK Accelerator cohort forms part of NATO DIANA’s most competitive intake to date. NATO received a record 3,680 submissions across member states for the 2026 call, with successful companies emerging from the top four percent of applicants.

The selected companies represent a cross-section of NATO innovation hubs and dual-use capability development:

• LSMedical (Estonia)
• Slipstream Design (United Kingdom)
• FOSSA Systems (Spain)
• Tern AI Inc. (United States)
• Testnor AS (Norway)
• Oledcomm (France)
• SDQ Solutions Canada (Canada)
• CX2 Inc. (United States)

The 2026 UK cohort is centred on technologies addressing contested electromagnetic environments — a domain increasingly recognised as decisive in modern military operations, where communications, navigation, sensing and command systems face persistent disruption, degradation and denial.

Tanya Suarez, Founder and CEO of IoT Tribe and lead of the Janus consortium, said the second year of the programme builds directly on NATO operational priorities and the UK’s Strategic Defence Review. She emphasised the importance of closer engagement with end users, faster adoption cycles and interoperability across Allied forces, noting that electromagnetic superiority is now a prerequisite for maintaining operational advantage.

Anita Friend, Head of UKDI-DASA, highlighted the accelerator’s role in unlocking dual-use innovation for defence, stressing that collaboration between NATO DIANA and the UK Accelerator is designed to move promising technologies more efficiently from development into operational use across the Alliance.

Six-Month Acceleration and NATO-Wide Access

Over a six-month period, the selected companies will work with the Janus Allies team through a structured programme combining in-person and virtual support. This includes workshops, technical and commercial mentoring, procurement guidance and exposure to defence end users, with the explicit goal of preparing companies for defence acquisition while expanding their commercial markets.

Participants will also gain access to NATO DIANA’s wider innovation ecosystem. From January 2026, all selected companies will receive contractual funding and access to DIANA’s network of 16 accelerator sites and more than 200 test centres across 32 NATO nations.

The 2026 DIANA innovators will work across ten priority areas identified by Allied governments:

• 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

Strengthening NATO’s Defence Innovation Pipeline

NATO DIANA remains a central pillar of the Alliance’s innovation strategy, aimed at accelerating deep-tech solutions with both military and civilian applications. By combining accelerator programmes, test infrastructure and Allied expertise, DIANA seeks to shorten the path from innovation to deployment while safeguarding technological sovereignty within NATO.

The Janus Allies consortium — led by UKDI-DASA and delivered in partnership with IoT Tribe, Atmos Ventures and the SETsquared Partnership — is designed to strengthen NATO’s defence industrial base by expanding the pipeline of investable, deployable dual-use technologies across Allied markets.

The UK Accelerator cohort will begin the programme in January 2026.