NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) and Ukraine have signed an agreement to expand cooperation on developing and testing defence-related technologies,
The memorandum of understanding was signed at NATO Headquarters on 29 October 2026, the alliance informed on Thursday.
DIANA is NATO’s programme designed to help innovators work on defence and security challenges by linking them with expertise and testing infrastructure.
The agreement is DIANA’s first of its kind with a NATO partner country.
The organisation said the new arrangement will support Ukrainian innovators in navigating NATO requirements, exploring testing opportunities and addressing obstacles to scaling technologies.
What DIANA and Ukraine agreed to do
NATO emphasised that the partnership is based on reciprocity, describing Ukraine’s innovation ecosystem as having developed through rapidly testing and adapting technology during the war following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“This Memorandum of Understanding is a beginning. A door is opening. Now our job is to walk through it together,” said Jyoti Hirani-Driver, DIANA’s Acting Managing Director.
“We have an enormous amount to learn from Ukraine,” she added.
NATO said closer cooperation could broaden the pool of suppliers and technologies contributing to the Alliance’s security.
