SEATOM is one of 150 companies from 24 NATO countries to participate in the DIANA 2026 Challenge Programme. The programme serves as a pathway for emerging technology innovators to enter the defence and security sector across NATO’s member nations. NATO DIANA connects companies with military end-users, mentors, and investors, accelerating the development, validation, and adoption of their innovations to help NATO tackle urgent operational challenges and maintain a decisive edge in defence technology.
The selected innovators will develop their dual-use technologies to address ten critical defence and security challenges, including advanced communications and contested electromagnetic environments, autonomy and unmanned systems, energy and power, biotech and human resilience, and critical infrastructure and logistics. Starting in January 2026, the selected companies will receive contractual funding and gain access to DIANA’s expanding network of 16 accelerator sites and more than 200 test centres across the 32 NATO nations.
Chosen under NATO DIANA’s Operations in Extreme Environments Challenge programme, SEATOM will over the next six months participate in DIANA’s Core Programme, working with the DualTech Accelerator in Turin, Italy, and engaging with DIANA’s extensive network of experts, mentors, and test centres across the Alliance.
As part of the programme, SEATOM will receive an initial EUR100,000 (USD117,440) in contractual funding, with potential access to additional funding for testing, evaluation, validation and verification activities. The company will also have opportunities to participate in operational experiments and exercises alongside Allied forces. Through the programme, SEATOM will deepen its technological readiness and strengthen its defence and dual-use offering.
“This is the right time for nuclear, as national and international regulations are being reformed and public perception now favours maritime nuclear more than any other viable option out there,” said SEATOM co-founder and co-CEO Roope Marttila.
The programme kicks off on 19 January, with an International Demo Day in Paris in June 2026.
“DIANA’s mission is to find the most innovative companies, help them advance their solutions and grow their business, and get the technologies we need into the hands of NATO operators,” said James Appathurai, Interim Managing Director of NATO DIANA. “Over the next year, these innovators will accelerate breakthrough technologies that can help to transform how the Alliance defends against current and emerging threats.”
