29 October 2026 00:00 UTC · NATO · NATO News · Read original source ↗ · Email X Link

NATO States DIANA and Ukraine Signed Innovation Agreement

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NATO notes the agreement marks the first of its kind between DIANA and a partner.

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NATO states DIANA and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and test technologies together.

Original text

On Thursday (29 October 2026), NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which opens new opportunities to develop and test technologies together, and to deepen cooperation between Ukraine and NATO’s innovation ecosystems. The agreement, signed at NATO Headquarters, is the first of its kind between DIANA and a NATO partner and marks a practical step towards strengthening mutual security through innovation. It also builds on the broader NATO-Ukraine cooperation across their innovation ecosystems, which has developed significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The partnership is built on reciprocity. Ukraine has developed an extraordinary innovation ecosystem while confronting the realities of modern conflict, rapidly testing, adapting and improving technology under the most demanding conditions, as a result of Russia’s war of aggression. DIANA offers an established pathway connecting innovators with NATO’s defence and security expertise and infrastructure. The MoU creates the foundations to take collaboration further, helping Ukrainian innovators navigate NATO requirements, explore testing opportunities and tackle barriers to scaling promising technologies. For NATO, closer cooperation could broaden the community of innovative suppliers and technologies contributing to the security of the Alliance, while strengthening the industrial base on which collective security depends. At a time when Allies need both to replenish critical capabilities and build a stronger, more innovative industrial base for the future, DIANA’s model is designed to connect promising companies with real defence and security problems and create pathways for technologies to move towards operational capability. “This Memorandum of Understanding is a beginning. A door is opening. Now our job is to walk through it together,” said Jyoti Hirani-Driver, Acting Managing Director of DIANA. “We have an enormous amount to learn from Ukraine.”

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