NATO launches new technological initiatives
NATO’s secretary general and defence ministers from 17 Allied countries agreed to take the lead on the development of NATO’s first Innovation Fund. (Photo: NATO)
NATO secretary general announced the launch of two NATO initiatives on 22 October, the Innovation Fund and DIANA.
NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, announced the launch of the NATO Innovation Fund on Friday at the ‘Meetings of NATO Ministers of Defence’.
The fund is expected to invest $1 billion, with innovators working on emerging and disruptive technologies.
Not only will it help to bring in other sources of public and private investment and promote investment opportunities and market access across the whole Alliance, but it will also protect the most innovative technologies from competitors.
It is one part of a broader strategy and is being developed in tandem with the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, or DIANA.
Through DIANA, NATO allies will provide a network of technology test centres and accelerator sites to better harness civilian innovation in the defence industry.
This will strengthen the technological bond between Europe and North America, ensuring allies are able to operate the different technologies seamlessly.
Both initiatives are expected to be fully in effect by NATO’s Madrid Summit in 2022.
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