DIANA has just launched the Decision Superiority for NATO Warfighters challenge.

DIANA will launch further challenges in June that will address a wider range of NATO's capability needs in defence and security.

No, selected innovators will not attend an accelerator site as part of this Challenge Programme. Instead, the programme will involve intensive workshops with Allied Command Operations and NATO stakeholders, focusing on iteration and integration of the technical solution within a cloud-based environment, culminating in a demonstration of that solution to NATO stakeholders.

This challenge is seeking solutions of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 or higher. You will need to provide evidence that your technical solution is TRL7+ in your proposal.

Yes, you will be expected to work closely with other vendors and NATO partners; integration will be key. DIANA will arrange a demonstration environment, but you will need to engage with relevant third parties including cloud service/platform providers. This will involve entering into contractual relationships to facilitate the demonstration of your technical solution to NATO stakeholders.

DIANA innovators retain all rights to their intellectual property. DIANA will neither take nor assert any rights over innovators’ intellectual property as part of the Challenge Programme, nor will any other stakeholders involved with the Challenge Programme.

DIANA is committed to protecting innovator information and to fostering a trusted environment for innovators’ proprietary/confidential information and their intellectual property. All information submitted as part of a proposal is treated as strictly confidential and will only be accessible to the evaluators assigned to that proposal, all of whom are subject to strict confidentiality obligations.

Proposals are submitted via a secure portal, where each company receives a unique identifier and directions to create a unique login account. All information is encrypted in submission and in storage.

When in the programme innovators will receive guidance and mentoring and may also seek specialist support from DIANA’s Legal Connect network to provide additional levels of assurance on protection of data and intellectual property.

The 100k EUR contractual funding must be used to enable the demonstration of your technical solution within a cloud environment, facilitated by DIANA. This will include contracting a cloud service provider to facilitate the demonstration.

Any company with its principal place of business in a NATO member nation that is controlled and majority owned by nationals of NATO member nations is eligible to submit a proposal. The specific eligibility criteria are set out in the ‘Terms and Conditions of Bidding’.

DIANA’s challenges are targeted at start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises with limited experience in defence and security.

DIANA will accept collaborative proposals as long as all member companies meet the eligibility requirements; a single company must be listed as the lead for the purposes of communication during the selection process, as well as for contracting and reporting requirements, should the proposal be selected.

Universities, public sector organisations and non-profit groups are not eligible to apply.

When the Challenge Call launches, you will be able to submit a proposal through the Challenge Portal, by clicking on ‘Challenges’ in the top menu, where you will be able to select the 'Decision Superiority for NATO Warfighters' challenge and begin the application process.

The submission window will close on 5^th May 2026 at 09:00 BST.

Yes, both the Short-Form Proposal and the Long-Form Proposal must be completed and submitted together before the close of the submission window at 0900 BST on Tuesday 5^th May 2026. If you wish to submit a supplementary video, this also must be submitted by the same deadline.

No, unlike previous DIANA challenges, there will not be a 'Phase 2' to this programme. The programme will conclude with demonstrations of the integrated solutions to NATO Allied Command Operations and other NATO stakeholders.

Innovators selected through this challenge are eligible to be awarded follow-on contracts by DIANA through its Rapid Adoption Service, on behalf of Allied Command Operations, NATO and Allies, for prototyping and potentially full deployment without further competition, at the discretion of the relevant entities.