Allies sign letter of intent on NATO Innovation Fund

Seventeen defence ministers signed an LOI to develop the NATO Innovation Fund during in a ceremony hosted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (at podium) on 22 October. (NATO)

Seventeen allies signed a letter of intent (LOI) to develop the EUR1 billion (nearly USD1.2 billion) NATO Innovation Fund on the second day of a 21–22 October defence ministerial meeting in Brussels. The LOI was signed by the defence ministers of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.

Announcing the signing of the LOI on its website on 22 October, NATO said the multinational fund would help it “retain its technological edge by enabling investment – worth EUR1 billion [nearly USD1.2 billion] – in dual-use technologies of potential application to defence and security. It will also facilitate closer and trusted co-operation with deep-tech innovators, which may otherwise be unable to develop successfully the innovative solutions most needed for the protection of the alliance.”

NATO expected both its innovation fund and the DIANA network to be fully in effect by the time it holds its summit in Madrid in 2022.