Nato selects JET Connectivity for DIANA innovation programme

This initiative aims, in the words of the military alliance, to “promote the adoption of emerging and disruptive technologies”.

JET Connectivity was one of just five companies selected globally and the only UK based firm to have been chosen. Apparently there were 3,600 applicants to the first phase of the accelerator programme, made in January this year. This was narrowed down to a cohort of 150.

The chosen companies will receive up to €300,000 in additional contractual funding and a further commitment of support from the programme and its delivery partners. Additional testing and validation budgets and other opportunities will also be available, adds Nato.

Finland

This stage of the accelerator programme is described by the defence organisation as an important milestone for innovators. Specifically, for them to move their technologies towards operational use across the alliance.

Jet Connectivity paid tribute to the facilities available at the VTT Dual-Use LaunchPad, which is part of the DIANA support network.

“Visiting Finland to engage with the 5G/6G test centre and working with mentors across Nato and the FDF has propelled our roadmap development and use case validation,” said JET’s CCO, Nicolas Calvelo Santos.

“Our advanced communications platform is now seen as a pivotal ingredient to add to NATO’s partners capabilities – we’d encourage other ambitious companies to explore the challenges and see if they could have something to offer.”

Innovators

The five companies chosen – the “Mission Track innovators” – are (alphabetically):

• Fieldmade (Norway) – Deployable additive manufacturing micro-factories.
• JET Connectivity (UK) – Sovereign, AI-driven 5G mesh solution for contested, denied, or compromised environments.
• Mesodyne (US) – Silent, reliable portable power generation from any fuel.
• SkyFi (US) – Earth intelligence platform to enable mobility decision support in contested and crisis conditions.
• Spacedrip (Estonia) – Autonomous deployable closed-loop water-reuse systems for remote and extreme sites.

Capability

“The Nato DIANA Mission Track is where innovation moves from promise to capability, helping innovators go the extra mile towards adoption,” said the programme’s manager, Jyoti Hirani-Driver.

“The five companies selected for Mission Track have demonstrated outstanding potential with their groundbreaking defence tech and reaching this stage is a significant achievement. We are excited to see what they do next.”

“JET Connectivity has surged forward in capability thanks, in no small part, to the support from the VTT Dual-Use Launchpad in Finland and the funding, mentoring and networking provided through Nato’s DIANA programme,” said company founder and CEO, James Thomas.

Looking ahead

Note that up to 10 additional companies will be selected for Mission Track in August.

Mission Track will then consist of an adoption-focused 5-7 month programme. As mentioned, the intention is to help innovators move towards operational readiness.

JET will demonstrate its technology at the forthcoming DIANA demo days. These are taking place in the UK on 11 June, and at Eurosatory in Paris on 15-16 June.

“This is fantastic recognition of British innovation at its best,” said the UK’s Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP.

“This is exactly the kind of cutting-edge capability that Nato needs and I’m proud to see a British company leading the way. The UK’s commitment to defence innovation is unwavering. JET Connectivity’s achievement demonstrates British technology is at the forefront of keeping our Alliance safe.”

Image: JET Connectivity – (left to right): James Thomas – CEO and Founder, JET Connectivity,  Alex Baker – MP for Aldershot and Farnborough, Dave Happy MBE, Non-Executive Director, JET Connectivity.

See also: NATO Innovation Fund leads £30m funding for SatVu