The UK will be partnering with Estonia to host a NATO programme to address critical defence challenges and innovate in new technologies.
Indeed, the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) will aim to improve transatlantic cooperation on critical technologies as well as work more closely with industry and academia. The programme will also be twinned with a new accelerator in Estonia in order to share expertise and explore the use of virtual sites to test autonomous vehicles and cyber innovations.
The UK and Estonia will then work together to support start-up companies with funding, guidance and business expertise through twinned accelerator networks, provide the use of deep tech test centres to assess technological solutions to military problems, and finally develop a virtual marketplace with NATO to connect start-ups with trusted investors.
This will help to harness the new technologies needed to innovate and develop the next generation of military tech, including artificial intelligence, Big Data, quantum-enable technologies, autonomy, biotechnology, hypersonics, and space. The programme is set to be operational in July 2022.
