DIANA at the NATO Summit: Driving Innovation from the Hague

From 23–25 June, NATO DIANA staff and innovators were proud to be on site in the Hague and to amplify NATO’s innovation agenda and the crucial role of emerging technologies to protect the Alliance’s security, and to provide game-changing defence capabilities.

DIANA is helping shape the Alliance’s culture on defence innovation

The week kicked off with the all-day “Securing the Future” event, which gathered over 800 attendees from the entire defence innovation ecosystem: cutting-edge innovators, high-ranking officials from NATO bodies and Allied governments, dual-use investors, VCs and traditional defence primes. The event brought together a diverse, mission-driven community that DIANA is proud to serve.

DIANA leadership, including COO and Civilian Deputy Director Jyoti Hirani-Driver, General Counsel Tom McSorley, Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Benitez, and Military Deputy Director Jorge Corte-Real Andrade highlighted throughout the Summit that NATO’s ability to stay ahead depends on its ability to foster and adopt great technology rapidly.

DIANA’s COO and Civilian Deputy Director, Jyoti Hirani-Driver, was part of the opening panel for the Securing the Future event, alongside the NATO Assistant Secretary General of Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber and the Netherlands State Secretary for Defence. Jyoti highlighted that innovation needs to be incorporated into the heart of our defence institutions, processes and people to maintain the Alliance’s technological edge.

DIANA's COO and Civilian Deputy Director, Jyoti Hirani-Driver speaking during the opening panel for the Securing the Future event.

DIANA’s work is supporting security and defence across NATO

Major General Jorge Corte-Real, DIANA’s Military Deputy Director, noted that end-user engagement in accelerating great technology is vital and this is his focus at DIANA — the warfighter must be able to understand and see how new innovation can help on the battlefield.

In addition, our Senior Commercial Advisor, Adam Painter, was also on the ground shoulder-to-shoulder with some of DIANA’s innovators such as Lobster Robotics, Goldilock, Spherical Systems, SECQUAI, Aquark, Qubitrium, and Cubiq Technologies. From unmanned vehicles to secure quantum communication and space solutions, these companies pitched breakthrough technologies with far-reaching defence and commercial applications.

DIANA is accelerating impact through rapid adoption

On the second day of activities, DIANA’s General Counsel, Tom McSorley, was a featured participant in a high-level roundtable hosted by Foreign Policy where he helped shape conversations on accelerating defence and security innovation for the Alliance. Tom emphasised DIANA’s commitment to guiding innovators through adoption pathways and especially the need to simplify and shorten procurement processes. He explained this is exactly the purpose of DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service — an initiative that is perfectly aligned with the overall strategic direction set out by the Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP), unveiled later that day.

The relevance of that alignment was on full display when, just hours later, DIANA innovator Lobster Robotics signed a prototyping contract with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence at the NATO Industry Forum. The agreement will see Lobster deploy Scout, its seabed-mapping drone, in support of operational needs: thus, marking a concrete adoption outcome of DIANA’s mission to connect cutting-edge dual-use technologies with defence end-users and convert innovation into capability. For Lobster Robotics, the contract also enables a significant scale-up in production, directly addressing a key priority expressed throughout the Summit: ensuring that mission-ready solutions are not only developed but deployed at pace across the Alliance.

Lobster Robotics CEO, Stephan Rutten, signing signing a prototyping contract with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence at the NATO Industry Forum.

DIANA is bridging the scaling gap in defence

At the NATO Public Forum, DIANA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ryan Benitez, spotlighted how DIANA’s accelerator model equips dual-use start-ups with the tools they need to succeed: mentorship, rigorous testing environments, and operational exercises. She underlined the importance of innovators developing strong commercial strategies alongside defence applications, ensuring their technologies are not only field-ready but future-resilient. She noted military validation can foster greater trust from commercial investors and customers alike, creating a virtuous cycle of confidence, growth, and impact across both sectors.

DIANA’s message is clear: DIANA isn’t just preparing for what’s next. We’re enabling technologies that save lives today.

Challenge Call: What’s next for dual-use innovation