Seven companies from the USA and Europe have arrived in Poland to refine their defense technologies as part of the NATO DIANA acceleration program. This international initiative by the Alliance supports the development of dual-use innovations designed for both military and civil sectors.
The program’s operator in Poland is FORT Kraków—a joint venture between the Kraków Technology Park (KPT) and the AGH University of Krakow (AGH). The inauguration of the accelerator, combined with the opening of the FORT Kraków project, took place on January 22, attended by representatives from NATO, public administration, and the technology sector.
By NATO’s decision, Poland is the only country on the Alliance’s Eastern Flank to host a DIANA accelerator, along with ten test centers and a NATO Innovation Fund office. This strategic distinction highlights Poland’s key role in developing technological innovations for NATO’s security and defense.
“The launch of the NATO DIANA accelerator in Kraków confirms that Polish science and the innovation ecosystem have reached a maturity that allows us to co-create solutions critical to the security of the entire Alliance. AGH, as a technical university with strong competencies in deep tech, takes responsibility not only for technology development but also for its real-world application—from laboratories and tests to implementation in cooperation with industry and military users. FORT Kraków is an example of how science and business can work together for national and NATO defense.”
— Prof. Jerzy Lis, Rector of AGH University in Kraków.
DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) is a NATO agency supported by accelerators and test centers located in member countries. Its goal is to accelerate the development of technologies vital to the security and defense of Alliance nations. It connects technology innovators with military institution representatives, testing facilities, and mentors from the defense sector, industry, and academia.
Seven Startups, Six Months
The program implemented by FORT Kraków involves seven NATO-selected startups from the USA and Europe working on advanced dual-use deep tech.
For six months, the teams will benefit from mentoring programs, expert support, and testing infrastructure. They will develop the technical and business competencies necessary at all stages of product and service development—from research and prototyping to validation, implementation, and scaling.
In the Polish accelerator, DIANA innovators will develop technologies critical to the modern battlefield, including:
- AegisX (Sweden): Autonomous solutions for detecting and countering unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS).
- Alpha Autonomy (Greece): Autonomous navigation and mission planning for vehicles operating in GPS-denied environments.
- Arcani Systems (UK): Drone identification and tracking using acoustic and radio sensors.
- Robotto (Denmark): Autonomous piloting for unmanned systems designed to operate during GPS loss and electronic warfare interference.
- mara, Picogrid, and Wave Sciences (USA): Solutions covering integrated drone swarm defense, platforms integrating various sensors, and object identification in noisy environments.
“The innovators working within the Kraków acceleration program are developing solutions that address very specific needs—from increasing the safety of military operations and supporting soldiers on the front line to protecting critical infrastructure. Our role as the guardian of the NATO DIANA program in Poland is to create conditions for them to test these technologies in practice, verify them, and prepare for further development in close cooperation with international partners and potential users.”
— Bartosz Józefowski, Deputy Director of the Technology Park Department at KPT.
Polish Success Stories in NATO DIANA
Although the defense innovation accelerator in Poland launched this year, the NATO DIANA program itself has been operating for several years, successfully supporting tech companies from Alliance member states. In previous editions held abroad, Polish entities participated and are now effectively developing and scaling their technologies internationally.
Polish alumni of NATO DIANA include IS-Wireless, Blue Armada Robotics, and Revobeam—creators of smart antennas for wireless communication systems.
“NATO DIANA is a program that opens doors to the defense market. The acceleration process allowed us to instantly understand the processes in this area and gain contacts that usually take years to build. If not for NATO DIANA, we wouldn’t be holding serious talks today with over a dozen leading military companies, nor would we be present with our antennas and anti-drone systems on several continents.”
— Mateusz Rzymowski, CEO of Revobeam.
These examples show that participation in NATO DIANA translates into real development and commercialization of advanced technologies. More Polish companies are also participating in the new NATO DIANA cohort within acceleration programs run by other centers.
“The Polish center is now one of 16 accelerators in the network being built since 2022. Its launch means not only strengthening international cooperation on NATO’s Eastern Flank regarding the creation and adoption of modern technologies for defense but primarily a change in our country’s role in the Alliance’s innovation ecosystem: we are moving from being a participant to a host, a guardian of innovators, and a facilitator of their relationships with networked test centers. It will also be a valuable lesson on how to build a dual-use innovation ecosystem in Poland and even more intensively develop Polish enterprises in this important sector.”
— Izabela Albrycht, AGH Rector’s Plenipotentiary for NATO DIANA.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/ruszyl-akcelerator-innowacji-nato-diana-w-krakowie-91538
