SINTEG Systems and the CTA Aerospace Technology Center are partnering to advance composite inspection technology as part of NATO’s DIANA program
SINTEG Systems, a spin-off from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) specializing in the development of advanced ultrasonic inspection technologies for composite materials, announced today a partnership with the CTA (Aerospace Technology Center), one of three applied research centers dedicated to aerospace materials and manufacturing in Canada. This partnership is supported by the “Testing, Evaluation, Validation, and Verification” (TEVV) funding mechanism under NATO’s DIANA program.
As part of this collaboration, CTA will serve as an R&D partner for SINTEG, independently conducting testing and validation of the company’s inspection technology and providing representative composite structures. This work builds on SINTEG’s status as a member of the 2026 cohort of NATO’s DIANA program and aims to strengthen the technical evidence needed to deploy this technology throughout the aerospace and defense supply chain. Given the steady increase in the proportion of composite materials used in aerospace and defense structures, manufacturers and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) providers are facing a growing bottleneck: existing non-destructive testing (NDT) methods cannot always keep pace with increased complexity, high production rates, a changing workforce, new assembly techniques, and in-service inspection requirements. SINTEG’s technology directly addresses this need: it inspects structures from a single side, reaches enclosed and hard-to-access structures, evaluates new assembly techniques such as welds and adhesives, and covers large areas in a single pass, unlike point-by-point scanning. CTA brings more than thirty years of experience in applied research with North American aerospace manufacturers, as well as its expertise in ultrasonic nondestructive testing, the manufacture of composite parts with complex geometries, and mechanical testing capabilities for validation and pre-certification purposes.
“Collaborating with the CTA provides us with an independent and rigorous testing environment to validate our inspection technology on real composite structures.”said Maarten Adams, founder and CEO of SINTEG Systems. “The support provided by TEVV funding through NATO’s DIANA program enables us to conduct rigorous validation within the required timeframes for future aerospace and defense programs using composite materials.”
“This collaboration with SINTEG is strategic for CTA because it provides an opportunity to co-develop and mitigate the technological risks associated with their innovative NDT solution, which addresses several challenges related to complex-geometry composite parts for our aerospace and defense clients. Furthermore, this technology from SINTEG aligns perfectly with one of our key areas of technological development as well as with our portfolio of NDT inspection capabilities.”, said François Lebel, Director of the Materials, Inspection, and Processes Unit at CTA.
This collaboration exemplifies NATO’s DIANA approach, which involves connecting dual-use innovators with specialized testing facilities within the Alliance. The goal is to validate and refine technologies in realistic, mission-relevant environments, with a view to their potential adoption by NATO and its Allies.
About SINTEG Systems – https://sintegsystems.com/
SINTEG Systems is a spin-off from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) that develops new guided ultrasonic wave inspection technologies for composite materials. Its technology goes beyond standard defect detection: it provides manufacturers and operators with a quantitative measure of a defect’s impact on a part’s structural integrity, thereby identifying issues that conventional inspection methods fail to detect. SINTEG is a member of NATO’s DIANA Class of 2026 and a finalist in the JEC World 2026 Startup Booster program.
About the CTA (Aerospace Technology Center) – https://aerocta.ca/
The CTA is a nonprofit organization that supports companies—from startups to large organizations, including small and medium-sized enterprises—in developing practical, customized technological solutions designed to improve efficiency, quality, and competitiveness, and to transform their ideas into prototypes, optimized processes, and marketable innovations. As a NATO-accredited DIANA test center, the CTA supports members of the DIANA program cohorts in the development, evaluation, and validation of dual-use technologies designed to address current defense and security challenges.
About NATO’s DIANA Program – https://www.diana.nato.int/index.html
DIANA identifies and accelerates the development of cutting-edge technologies to provide the Alliance with decisive defense and security solutions, while fostering cutting-edge innovation. AS A KEY COMPONENT OF NATO’S INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY, DIANA brings together world-class talent and the latest technological advances to maintain the Alliance’s technological edge. Drawing on a network of state-of-the-art acceleration sites, testing centers, expert mentors, and the expertise of Allies in 32 countries, DIANA supports innovators working at the intersection of defense readiness, commercial potential, and technological breakthroughs.
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