As part of the program, companies will have the chance to adapt their technological solutions to meet the needs of the defense market through research, development, and innovation.

"NATO DIANA is a great opportunity to promote innovation in Estonia's defense industry and contribute to our national defense capability," said Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform).

"As competition for participation in NATO DIANA accelerator programs grows every year, we are preparing a DIANA mentoring program to boost the competitiveness of Estonian companies applying to the program. The Ministry of Defence considers it important to support Estonian companies in fostering innovation," Pevkur added.

Two Estonian companies have successfully passed the highly competitive selection process for the second year of the NATO DIANA business accelerator and will begin developing their products in December. A total of seven startups will participate in the NATO DIANA Tallinn branch accelerator, with companies also coming from Sweden, Norway, and Poland. Across the alliance, nearly 2,600 applications were submitted for the 74 available spots in 13 accelerators.

The successful Estonian companies are Wayren and Telearmy. Wayren is developing a data exchange platform that enables solutions even in the most demanding environments, including regions in conflict. Telearmy is working on a product that, when integrated into existing vehicles, allows them to be remotely controlled over long distances and at high speeds via networks like Starlink or Radiolink.

"We are very pleased to see the growing interest of Estonian companies in NATO DIANA, and we are ready to support their successful participation," said Miiko Peris, head of the innovation department at the Estonian Ministry of Defense.

"Currently, the challenge lies in the fact that while the number of applications from Estonian companies in the first round is considerable, the percentage advancing to the second round is relatively small. Therefore, we must focus on improving the quality of applications, which is the main goal of the mentoring programme," Peris said.

Detailed information on the mentoring programme, including registration details and participation requirements, will be published at the end of January.

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