Jan 26, 2026 
Last week marked the official launch of the first NATO DIANA cluster in Espoo, Finland. The opening programme brought together European startups, defence innovators, researchers, and government stakeholders working at the intersection of defence technology, dual-use innovation, and NATO capability development.
The week combined keynote sessions with in-depth working discussions focused on the current European and NATO defence environment. Topics included operational communications requirements, secure and resilient networking, evolving threat models, and the practical realities of NATO and European defence procurement. Particular attention was given to where new capabilities are genuinely needed, and where existing systems struggle under real operational constraints.
A recurring theme throughout the programme was the growing importance of decentralised and resilient communications systems that can operate in contested, denied, or degraded environments. As modern conflicts increasingly involve electronic warfare, spectrum congestion, and infrastructure disruption, the need for robust tactical communications and mesh networking is no longer theoretical, but operationally urgent.
The programme concluded with a gala event that brought together defence decision-makers and senior stakeholders, including representatives from the Finnish Defence Forces and Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen. The discussions were open and practical, grounded in current defence realities, with conversations continuing well beyond the formal sessions. There was a shared understanding that defence innovation must translate into deployable capability, not just promising demonstrations.
We would like to thank VTT Dual-Use LaunchPad for organising the week, as well as our mentors Mario Aguilera, Benjam Bröijer, Timo Kerola, and Tomi Kankainen for their hands-on engagement and operational insight. We are also grateful to the other companies in the DIANA cohort for the depth of technical discussion and the willingness to share lessons across domains such as communications, autonomy, sensing, and defence software.
For Beechat, the focus now shifts decisively toward real-world use-cases and operational validation. Over the coming months, we will be deploying Kaonic, our secure mesh communications system, into operationally relevant environments. These trials will inform further development, ensuring the system is shaped by real operational feedback rather than laboratory assumptions.
Our objective is to contribute to the next generation of sovereign and resilient communications infrastructure, designed for defence, security, emergency response, and critical infrastructure use, and aligned with NATO’s long-term capability needs. Validation, iteration, and deployment are now the priority.
We look forward to continuing these discussions with the DIANA cohort in Munich in February, as the programme progresses from strategic dialogue toward tangible outcomes and fielded capability.
Contact information:
Web: beechat.network
Sales inquiries: sales@beechat.network
Technical support: outreach@beechat.network
