
"(...) after the accesion of Sweden and Finland, NATO dominates the Baltic Sea, but Russia maintains its considerable capabilities there to project its power. Hence, the Baltic Sea is an arena where disruptive technologies will determine deterrence on the Alliance's eastern flank. There is no room for delays in the innovation cycle. That is why the launch of the world’s first NATO DIANA Living Lab - located at the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications, and Computer Science at Gdańsk University of Technology - is not an administrative decision, but a strategic one. The Living Lab fills a critical gap in the Alliance's innovation architecture. It serves as a bridge between the laboratory and the battlefield (...)” - wrote the President of Poland @NawrockiKn in a letter marking the opening of the NATO DIANA Living Lab at Gdańsk University of Technology.
The letter was read by Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Andrzej Kowalski, Deputy Head of the National Security Bureau, who attended the inauguration of the NATO DIANA Living Lab at Gdańsk University of Technology. The opening of the first facility of its kind within the Alliance marks a groundbreaking step. The investment in Gdańsk is, in effect, a technology testing ground in a quasi-operational environment, where dual-use and defense technologies are continuously installed, tested with the participation of military operators and civilian clients, and prepared for entry into government and NATO procurement chains.
The NATO DIANA Living Lab in Poland - the first one at @NATO - addresses a fundamental shift in defense technology: the bulk of innovation now originates outside the traditional defense sector, within a broad ecosystem of deep-tech and dual-use startups. Accelerating the “innovation-adoption” cycle is a prerequisite for survival on the eastern flank - the Baltic Sea, Ukraine, and potential crises in the Arctic require technological response systems measured in months, not years.
Numerous allied investments related to NATO’s DIANA defense innovation accelerator signify the recognition of Poland as a key hub for defense innovation on the eastern flank - and, in fact, across the entire Alliance. Poland is the only country in this region that possesses the full set of DIANA ecosystem tools: the Fort Kraków accelerator, 10 testing centers, the NATO Innovation Fund office, and as of yesterday, also the first Living Lab.

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