Seven Canadian companies have been selected for NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) including Reaction Dynamics.
A total of 73 companies were selected from 20 countries and over 2600 submissions in the following five categories: Energy & Power (14); Critical Infrastructure and Logistics (15); Data & information Security (17); Human Health and Performance (13); and Sensing & Surveillance (14).
On Thursday December 12 the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, announced the companies selected. They include:
- Qidni Labs Inc. (human health and performance)
- Quantropi (data and information security)
- SDQ Solutions Canada (data and information security)
- Synaptrain Technologies Inc. (data and information security)
- TACTIQL (data and information security)
- Reaction Dynamics (critical infrastructure and logistics)
- Flosonics Medical (human health and performance)
Not mentioned was another Canadian company represented by it’s Portuguese office, Thothx (SERVIÇOS DE RADAR ESPACIAL, LDA). They’re were selected in the Sensing & Surveillance category and are known in part for their work in space domain awareness.
Of the other Canadian companies selected, only Reaction Dynamics has a direct link to the space sector and they are in the Critical Infrastructure and Logistics category.
Reaction Dyamics posted a statement on their LinkedIn page which in part reads:
“Aurora-8, our dual use launch vehicle, is designed to serve both commercial and military satellite launch markets, providing responsive, dedicated, and affordable access to space. Its unique capability to be hashtag#stockpiled and stored for extended duration will deliver a new responsive launch capability to NATO member states.
Through NATO DIANA, we look forward to accelerating our commercial trajectory while gaining invaluable mentorship from experts across NATO member states, the NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), the NATO Space Centre of Excellence, and operational centers. Their guidance will help us to accelerate our innovation and our go-to-market activities, help to fine-tune our understanding of NATO’s needs, and further align our solutions with Alliance priorities.
As we prepare for Aurora’s suborbital flight in 2025, this partnership reinforces our commitment to building a resilient, responsive, and secure space ecosystem that supports both economic growth and national hashtag#security.
We also look forward to starting the accelerator program hosted by COVE and connecting with investors and mentors who share our vision of dual-use technologies and fostering innovation for societal and defence applications.”
All the companies selected will receive “€100,000 in funding, training in technology, commercial development and defence, and opportunities to test their solutions in a variety of specialised environments.”
On October 2nd the NATO DIANA North American office headquarters in Halifax was opened. Canada is providing “an initial investment of $26.6 million dollars over six years” for the office. Major-General Paul Peyton ws announced as the Military Deputy Director for North America for NATO DIANA.