DIANA-backed Finnish startup proves persistent aerial autonomy, 5G+SATCOM “digital backbone” and NATO-grade interoperability during Task Force X – Eastern Flank Deterrence Line experimentation in extreme winter conditions.
Kelluu, the Finnish hydrogen-powered airship company and a flagship of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), has been validated by NATO evaluators as the top mission-assurance capability for extreme conditions at the NATO Innovation Range Technical Demonstration for the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line (EFDL) in Riihimäki, Finland.
Selected as one of roughly twenty companies for the Task Force X – Eastern Flank Deterrence Line experimentation campaign, Kelluu demonstrated multi-day, persistent autonomous operations in severe icing conditions some 500 kilometres north-east of Riihimäki, while streaming real-time multi-sensor data over 5G and SATCOM into NATO-standard command-and-control systems. The mission-assurance award was presented by Brigadier General Chris Gent of NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM).
Key facts:
• Strategic context – Eastern Flank Deterrence Line (EFDL): EFDL is NATO’s new regional initiative to defeat adversary mass and momentum using low-cost, attritable uncrewed systems, AI-enabled targeting and layered defenses along the Alliance’s eastern border.
• Part of Task Force X: The Riihimäki technical demonstration belongs to NATO’s Task Force X innovation pathway, which uses real-world trials to integrate autonomous systems and digital backbones into Allied operations at speed.
• DIANA success story: Kelluu was selected for DIANA from over 2,600 applicants into DIANA’s first full cohort and later advanced to Phase 2, becoming the first DIANA company to secure the Rapid Adoption Contract framework with a NATO allies.
• Proven under NATO hard-mode: In 2025 Kelluu has already flown in NATO’s REPMUS and Dynamic Messenger experimentation campaigns and in the Atlantic Trident exercise, providing persistent, low-altitude ISR over complex maritime and air environments.
• Arctic-born and EW-hardened: Designed and tested near the Finnish-Russian border, Kelluu’s airships have been built to operate in harsh winter weather and in GNSS-denied, heavily jammed environments – “free interference” that has toughened the system for the Eastern Flank.
• Digital backbone ready: At Riihimäki and over eastern Finland, Kelluu acted as an airborne 5G and SATCOM relay, feeding AI-ready, multi-sensor data into SitaWare, TAK and NATO Maven-compatible environments – aligning directly with NATO’s digital backbone vision.
NATO’s new “Deterrence Line” meets Arctic-born aerial autonomy
NATO’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Line is designed as an integrated digital shield – a networked combination of persistent sensors, affordable uncrewed platforms and fast command-and-control that can stretch from the Baltic and Poland down to the Black Sea.
“Task Force X – Eastern Flank Deterrence Line is where NATO’s new deterrence concepts become real,” said Janne Hietala, CEO of Kelluu. “To be recognised there for mission assurance in extreme conditions is a strong signal that Arctic-born, persistent aerial autonomy belongs at the core of the Eastern Flank deterrence architecture – not at the margins.”
Demonstrating mission assurance 500 km from the range
While NATO stakeholders and partners gathered in Riihimäki’s winter conditions, Kelluu’s autonomous airships were flying multi-day sorties in even harsher weather roughly 500 kilometres to the north-east in eastern Finland – an area characterised by dense forests, limited infrastructure, icing and frequent electronic interference.
Operating from austere sites close to the Russian border, the airships:
• Launched and recovered from small clearings with minimal ground crew
• Maintained persistent airborne presence in sub-zero, icing conditions where many conventional UAS would normally be grounded
• Continued operations despite GNSS jamming and spoofing that Kelluu experiences routinely in its home region
By design, Kelluu’s platforms are small, semi-rigid hydrogen airships with low radar cross-section and low acoustic signature, optimised for affordable mass and long endurance rather than speed. That profile makes them particularly suited to EFDL’s requirement for persistent sensing, communications and targeting support in the rear and deep flanks – while higher-end drones and artillery focus on immediate kinetic effects.
Plugging into NATO’s digital backbone
The EFDL technical demonstration in Finland is tightly coupled to NATO’s broader work on digital backbones and multi-domain command-and-control.
At the event, Kelluu showcased how its airships can:
• Serve as an airborne 5G node and SATCOM relay, extending connectivity over forest, tundra and border regions
• Stream multi-sensor payload data (EO/IR, Saab Sirius Compact rESM and other mission payloads) at high bandwidth and low latency
• Integrate that data into NATO-standard systems such as SitaWare and TAK and into Maven-compatible AI analytics pipelines for automated detection and tracking
This shows how Kelluu’s platforms function as a flying node in a wider network of uncrewed systems and digital services, feeding a shared operational picture to NATO commanders in real time.
“EFDL is about more than platforms – it is about resilient, interoperable networks and data,” said Hietala. “We designed Kelluu from day one as a digital backbone in the sky that keeps sensors, AI and operators connected even when the weather and the spectrum are against you.”
From DIANA cohort to operational adoption
Kelluu’s performance at EFDL builds on a rapid progression through NATO’s innovation ecosystem:
• DIANA Accelerator: Selected in 2024 from more than 2,600 applicants into DIANA’s first full cohort, one of only a handful of Finnish companies chosen.
• Rapid Adoption and national trials: First DIANA company to secure a Rapid Adoption Service deal with a NATO Ally, validating the technology in national trials and electromagnetic-contested environments.
• Nation-scale NATO experimentation: Participation in REPMUS and Dynamic Messenger in Portugal, where Kelluu’s airship provided persistent maritime ISR alongside a broad mix of uncrewed systems, and in the Atlantic Trident 2025 airforce exercise hosted by Finland.
With EFDL, Kelluu now extends that trajectory directly into LANDCOM-led Eastern Flank experimentation and towards NATO’s Layered Counter-UAS Initiative, LCI-X, which will deploy affordable, layered defences against massed enemy drones.
“Our journey from DIANA challenge pitches to Task Force X and EFDL shows that NATO’s innovation pipeline is working,” Hietala added. “We’re no longer talking about PowerPoints. We’re flying real missions, in real NATO exercises, with real soldiers depending on our data.”
Next steps with LANDCOM, EFDL and LCI-X
Following the mission-assurance award at Riihimäki, Kelluu will:
• Engage with Allied Land Command and participating nations on follow-on EFDL experimenta-tion and early operational deployments along the Eastern Flank
• Prepare for integration into upcoming LCI-X experimentation as part of a layered counter-UAS and ISR architecture
• Continue joint work with partners across Task Force X and other initiatives to ensure that Kelluu’s airships plug seamlessly into existing command-and-control, intelligence and border-security systems
Kelluu’s goal is to scale from a current active fleet today to hundreds of airships able to provide 24/7 coverage over critical infrastructure, borders and rear areas across the Eastern Flank in the coming years.
About Kelluu
Founded in 2018 in Joensuu, Finland, Kelluu builds hydrogen-powered, long-endurance airships that deliver persistent, low-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and communications relay. Kelluu’s platforms are designed to operate below cloud level, in GNSS-denied and heavily jammed environments, and in Arctic conditions – filling the gap between traditional UAS and high-altitude aircraft.
Kelluu currently operates a growing fleet of autonomous airships and provides “airship-as-a-service” to customers in defence, border security, infrastructure and environmental monitoring.
About DIANA
NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) connects dual-use deep-tech companies with end-users, test centres and investors across the Alliance. DIANA’s goal is to move critical technologies – such as AI, autonomy, space, cyber and novel sensing – from lab to field within two years, accelerating adoption into NATO forces.