by Canadian Army Today Staff
In September, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) announced the selection of 15 companies to advance to the second phase of its DIANA Accelerator Program, a crucial step in a novel approach to turn emerging and innovative technologies into operational capabilities for the Alliance.
The 15 cutting-edge businesses, drawn from 32 countries, were selected from a cohort of 73 companies that participated in the first phase of DIANA 2025, which attracted over 2500 applicants.
Among the companies receiving €300,000 in funding, access to NATO test centres, and tailored support, are Canadian start-ups Reaction Dynamics and TACTIQL.
Reaction Dynamics, based in Longueuil, Que., is developing a suite of sustainable, next-generation space transportation systems while Ottawa-based TACTIQL has developed a software platform that enables universal interoperability between intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and command and control software to allow real-time distribution of mission-critical sensor data.
Officially launched at the 2022 Madrid Summit, DIANA represents a strategic shift in how NATO approaches technology and innovation. Traditionally, defence research within NATO has been driven by national programs and large defence contractors. DIANA is seeking to change that equation by focusing on dual-use technologies in cybersecurity, biotech, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, autonomy, robotics, hypersonics, big data processing, and space — bridging the gap between startups and the military.
“DIANA is NATO’s innovation engine,” explained James Appathurai, managing director for the program. “We are finding the most innovative technologies from the market; we are helping these talented innovators fine-tune their technologies and grow their businesses; and we are connecting the companies to end users so that NATO defence ministries can adopt new technologies at the speed of relevance, including through DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service.”
The initiative is built around three core pillars: a network of accelerator sites, test centers, and a strategic innovation fund to help ideas rapidly move from concept to deployment through mentorship, business development support, and access to defence and security experts.
DIANA’s physical footprint spans both sides of the Atlantic. There are currently 20 accelerator sites and 180 test centres across the Alliance including two accelerator sites and 13 test centres in Canada.
TACTIQL was founded in 2022 by Mike Nelson, a 13-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), with time in working with the Navy, Army, and Special Operations Forces, and in the Department of National Defence promoting the adoption of emerging technologies.
The company’s flagship product, KILO — now being promoted as FULCRUM — emerged from the Innovation Solutions Canada (ISC) testing stream in 2023, and has been trialled by the Army to digitize the chain between ISR sensors, decision makers, and effectors.
At present, sensor data, such as airborne camera feeds, require a lot of manual interaction to be usable for a decision-maker and effectors, Nelson said. A soldier monitoring a screen often communicates observations and analysis by voice or manual data entry for that information to be plotted on a map, entered into battle management software, or formatted for a gunline.
“I consider ourselves the data plumbers,” he explained. “We take raw sensor data and automatically condition and enrich it to be compliant with military standards, so that it can be digitally ingested, analyzed and distributed throughout the battlespace in real time.”
Though smartphone-like devices are now part of a call for fires, dropdown menus and other steps require human interaction, he noted. “Somebody still has to look at that threat — often leaving them exposed — calculate where the threat is, type in grid coordinates, etc.”
TACTIQL enables the automation of some of those processes by digitalizing, standardizing and translating sensor data into the appropriate message format dissemination and consumption, such as variable message format for artillery and mechanized infantry, or Link 16 and Link 22 for fighter aircraft and warships.
Applying to NATO DIANA was a long shot, Nelson admitted. But he saw it as an opportunity to learn about the U.S. and NATO defence markets. More than anything, it created visibility within NATO.
TACTIQL was among 73 companies selected from 2,600 applicants for the Phase I challenge, a six-month accelerator program intended to help the company refine its value proposition, build out its strategy, and collect user feedback from NATO exercises and testing centres to refine its product.
Nelson believes the company was selected for Phase 2, which focuses on scaling up the technology and wider adoption across NATO, because of the growing interest across the CAF for its product, as well as KILO/FULCRUM’s performance at several exercises, including Bold Quest.
“NATO DIANA gives you a really good understanding of the defence ecosystem across the Alliance,” he said, but it requires relentless customer focus to understand today’s problems they are trying to solve, rather than trying to impress with emerging, but not yet ready, technologies that are unlikely to be adopted for several years. Canadian start-ups with great technology might find it a struggle to gain traction with the military “if their product isn’t helping solve the most important problems they are experiencing now. That is just the reality when you are trying to ‘catch-up’ and get to where you need to be.”
The NATO experience also opened doors in Canada. Over the past 12 months, TACTIQL has signed memorandums of understanding with Calian Ventures and Kongsberg Geospatial to pursue joint opportunities in the defence market, helping the business accelerate and scale its “product roadmap.”
Nelson credited the young company’s early success in part to support from the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and its programs like ISC and the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), as well as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive, which mitigated some of the initial R&D risk.
“I would not have had the money to start the company if it was not for IRAP, we would not have the traction we have if not for ISC,” he said.
As an early adopter of KILO, the Canadian Army has been pivotal to NATO and U.S. military access, Nelson stressed. In recent years, the Army has “expanded its risk appetite [for emerging technology] and its belief in the importance of working with companies like TACTIQL,” he said. “They know the Army needs to evolve and they know there’s a place where we fit within that ecosystem. The Army has been absolutely incredible supporters of that ecosystem.”
