NATO to expand innovation network in Hungary

NATO’s DIANA innovation program is expanding its network with new sites in Hungary, the defence ministry said on Monday.

In a statement, the ministry cited an announcement from the DIANA initiative that it will link accelerator and test centers in Hungary to the alliance’s innovation network.

NATO DIANA was established to use defence-based innovation to create value-added products that can be useful in both the civilian and defence sectors, the ministry said.

Hungary is joining NATO’s defence industry innovation network with an accelerator and several test centers with the aim of boosting both domestic and international R+D cooperation within the alliance, they said.

The ministry said the dual-use nature of the solutions being developed contributes to domestic industrial growth. It added that accelerating innovation would allow domestic businesses to establish themselves at a NATO level, leading to job and economic growth.

The ministry said the first DIANA accelerator will operate under the name VIKI-NOKIA as part of the partnership between the Defense Innovation Research Institute (VIKI) and Nokia Solutions and Networks.

Meanwhile, the accreditation of six DIANA test centers will further strengthen Hungary’s role within NATO, the ministry said, noting that the test centers have been established by the University of Pecs, Budapest’s Óbuda University, BHE Bonn Hungary Electronics, Alverad Technology Focus, ITSec Area and Nokia Bell Labs.

The ministry noted that the ZalaZONE vehicle test track ZalaZONE Research and Technology Centre is also a DIANA-accredited site.

Imre Porkolab, the ministerial commissioner for defence innovation, said Hungary’s increased presence in the DIANA initiative would advance knowledge transfers and contribute to the success of the applications of domestic innovators.

The statement cited Deeph Chana, Managing Director of DIANA, as saying that the broad scale and diversity of DIANA network partners accelerated the development and introduction of innovative solutions for defence, security and peace.

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