A new testing facility in Riihimäki, Finland, is opening up fresh opportunities for dual-use technology startups aiming to serve NATO defence markets.
Finnish defence maintenance company Millog Oy has launched a low-threshold test centre at the Defence Innovation Network Finland’s (DEFINE) Hub, designed to help companies evaluate software, network solutions, and AI systems against the demanding requirements of modern military environments.
The DEFINE Testing Centre is targeted at early-stage ventures — including participants in the NATO DIANA and DEFINE accelerator programs — and offers both on-site and remote testing in a secure, standards-compliant data centre.
“Our goal is to shorten the R&D and procurement cycles by bringing new innovations from the startup companies to the knowledge of alliance forces,” said Toni Piispa, vice president of Millog’s Authorities and Industry Business Unit. “For startups, this creates a new channel to promote and present their products to the end customers which has not been easy to do earlier. Also we want to work with the existing defence OEM’s to help them find the best new companies and innovative products to support their own product capability development.”
Millog is a strategic partner of the Finnish Defence Forces, and it brings deep operational insight to the initiative. The company currently maintains nearly all of Finland’s military equipment and was originally formed through the outsourcing of defence maintenance depots. Now, it also plays a growing role in evaluating emerging technologies for wider NATO use.
A Practical Approach to Dual-Use Innovation
Millog defines dual-use technology as civilian products that also serve defence use cases, with adaptations to meet military requirements. The new facility helps startups make these adjustments and gain certification to support financing, procurement, and integration into allied systems.
“In addition to serving Finnish defence forces, we are also working with other militaries. Mainly Nordic countries, but also other NATO allied forces and NATO organizations,” said Piispa. “We will promote testing events (operational/simulation) for Finnish defence forces and other interested parties, such as defence OEM’s, so that they can come and spectate.”
Millog also partners with Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), giving companies access to GPU infrastructure for AI development and testing. This includes work on language models, autonomous agents, and other advanced applications — built with support from RAIN.global Oy.
“We want to help defence OEMs find the best new companies and innovative products to support their own capability development,” said Piispa.
While the centre is based in Finland, its services are available to startups and defence partners from across the NATO alliance. Millog’s position gives it unique access to Finnish and Nordic military environments, and the company plans to promote joint testing events that allow stakeholders to observe operational simulations in action.
Looking ahead, the DEFINE Testing Centre will expand to include additive manufacturing capabilities, further strengthening its role as a gateway for new defence technologies in Europe.
