For innovators looking to apply to NATO DIANA, the first step is to understand what DIANA’s challenges actually are.
A challenge is not a traditional procurement call, nor a request for a predefined product. It is a way for NATO DIANA to identify innovative technologies that can help address real capability and effect gaps faced by the Alliance and its Allied nations.
DIANA challenges are designed to connect emerging and cutting-edge technologies with defence and security needs. They help translate innovation from the commercial or research world into solutions that can support Allied warfighters and national security communities.
Challenges respond to real Alliance needs
DIANA challenges are built around the capability gaps identified across NATO and its 32 Allied nations. These gaps may relate to short-term operational needs, medium-term technology development, or longer-term strategic priorities.
Some challenges, like DIANA’s Decision Superiority for NATO Warfighters Challenge launched earlier this year, focus on urgent needs where existing technologies could be adapted and adopted quickly. These are designed to help bridge the gap between solutions already available in the commercial market and the specific needs of defence users.
DIANA’s June challenges for the 2027 cohort are focused on medium-term needs. These are aimed at technologies that are already relatively mature, but still need further development, testing and adaptation before they can be used effectively in defence and security contexts. In many cases, these technologies may sit around Technology Readiness Levels 4, 5 or 6: promising enough to be relevant, but not yet fully ready for operational deployment.
DIANA also looks at longer-term challenges, which focus on strategically important technologies for the future security, resilience and wellbeing of Allied nations. These areas may require sustained development over several years.
How DIANA challenges are designed
DIANA challenges are the result of a structured process involving NATO, Allied nations and expert communities. The process starts with a broad and continuous information-gathering phase. During this phase, different stakeholders help identify where capability gaps exist and where emerging technologies may offer new ways to address them.
Three groups play an important role in shaping this understanding.
First, defence and security communities across the Alliance and Allied nations provide insight into operational needs. This includes armed forces, law enforcement agencies, national security bodies and organisations focused on civil resilience.
Second, Allied defence industrial ecosystems help define what is already possible through existing defence procurement pathways. This makes it possible to distinguish between what is theoretically promising and what is actually mature enough to be developed, tested or adopted.
Third, subject matter experts from academia, research, science, technology and innovation communities contribute technical insight. Their role is to help DIANA understand the state of the art, future technology trends and potential areas of disruption.
This information is then filtered through NATO’s strategic frameworks, including the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept and the NATO Defence Planning Process. These processes help define the capability and effect gaps that matter most for the Alliance.
From there, DIANA transforms these inputs into DIANA’s concrete challenge statements.
Why challenge statements are scenario-based
A DIANA challenge statement is designed to guide innovators without limiting their creativity. It usually contains two important elements: a challenge summary and an illustrative scenario.
The challenge summary explains the context, the capability gap and the current state of technology and practice. It reflects NATO DIANA’s understanding of what the Alliance needs and where innovation could have an impact.
The illustrative scenario is especially important for applicants. Rather than asking for one specific technology or a predefined product, DIANA presents a realistic operational or security-related situation. Companies are then invited to show how their technology could help address the needs described in that scenario.
This approach is intentional. DIANA does not want to limit applicants to solutions that NATO has already imagined. The objective is to surface unexpected ideas, weak signals and innovative approaches that may not yet be visible through traditional defence procurement processes.
For applicants, this means that reading the scenario carefully is essential. A strong application should not simply describe a technology. It should explain how that technology would help users act more effectively, more safely or more resiliently in the situation described.
What happens after the challenge is launched
Once challenges are designed and approved, they are announced publicly and companies are invited to apply. Applications are then evaluated, and selected companies go through a down-selection process.
This process includes technical evaluation, but also checks linked to safety and security considerations. Allied nations are involved in the selection process to ensure that selected companies are relevant and appropriate for the programme.
Companies selected for a DIANA challenge then enter DIANA's Accelerator Programme. This gives them access to support, mentoring, testing opportunities and connections across the Allied innovation ecosystem.
The journey does not end with acceleration. Depending on their progress, innovators may access follow-on opportunities such as DIANA’s Mission Track or DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service, which helps connect innovators’ solutions with real defence and security users.
What applicants should take away
For innovators considering submitting an application, the most important message is this: DIANA challenges are carefully designed around real Alliance needs. They are not abstract innovation themes. They reflect capability gaps identified through NATO processes, Allied nation input and expert analysis.
Applicants should therefore take the time to read each challenge statement in detail. The scenario is not background information; it is the key to understanding what DIANA is asking for.
A strong application should clearly show:
- How the technology addresses the challenge scenario.
The solution should be linked directly to the needs, risks or operational constraints described.
- Why the technology is relevant for defence and security.
Even if the company comes from a commercial market, it should explain the dual-use relevance of its innovation.
- What level of maturity the technology has reached.
DIANA is particularly interested in technologies that are promising enough to be developed and tested, but that still need support to adapt to defence use cases.
- How DIANA can help unlock the next milestone.
Applicants should be specific about whether they need validation, testing, mentoring, operational feedback, access to end users or support in understanding defence adoption pathways.
DIANA challenges are an opportunity for innovators to show how their technologies can contribute to the future defence and security of the Alliance. The best applications will be those that engage deeply with the challenge, understand the scenario and clearly explain how their solution can make a difference.
Apply to our latest Challenge Call now: https://www.diana.nato.int/challenges.html