NATO establishes five pilot innovation ranges across Europe

NATO has established five pilot innovation ranges in Europe to test and evaluate emerging defense technologies under operational conditions. The ranges provide dedicated physical sites where companies and allied militaries can conduct testing, evaluation, verification, and validation of new systems.

The effort follows NATO allies' approval of the Rapid Adoption Action Plan in June 2025. That plan sets a target of completing testing and validation cycles within one year of identifying potential solutions.

Latvia hosted an event in March 2026 at the Sēlija Military Training Area. Defense companies, operational users, and government representatives from allied countries and Ukraine tested interceptor drones, electronic warfare solutions, and other counter-drone technologies.

Finland conducted its first innovation range event in December 2025 at the DEFINE Innovation Hub in Riihimäki. The event examined resilient communications, artificial intelligence-enabled decision support, autonomous systems, and operations in Arctic conditions.

A second multi-site campaign took place in June 2026 focused on interoperability and distributed operations across land, maritime, and networked environments.

Ankara summit The article states that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has identified defense industrial innovation as a priority for the upcoming summit in Ankara. It recommends expanding the innovation range model to additional sites and easing access for small and new defense innovators.

The text also calls for alignment of standards and procurement frameworks to support interoperability and faster adoption of validated technologies across member militaries.