Defense Innovation Unit: FY2022 In Review

Abstract

The threat matrix the United States (U.S.) faces today is significantly more diverse than in previous eras. Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter foresaw this in 2015 when he established the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). While the Department of Defense (DoD) continues to develop offensive and defensive capabilities around conventional military platforms, dual-use emerging technologies are changing the nature of warfare. This is evident today in Ukraine, where commercial satellite imagery, autonomous drones, communication tools, and social media are being democratized and used in new ways in the name of national defense. The U.S. military will enjoy neither a time nor a technology advantage if our adversaries achieve more agility in adopting and integrating commercial technology into their warfare tactics. To gain and maintain operational advantage over competitors, the DoD requires an order of magnitude increase in its adoption of commercial technologies. To this end, DoD must act as a fast follower. DIU, the experiment that was started seven years ago, is now scaling at a significant pace, with 17 transitions in FY 2022-- the highest in a single fiscal year in DIUs history -- raising our cumulative transition rate to 47%. Through our use of the Other Transaction (OT) authority and the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process, DIU has demonstrated that DoD is capable of rapidly prototyping and competitively sourcing cutting-edge technology as well as lowering the barriers to entry for small, non-traditional, and first-time companies. DIU is efficiently integrating commercial technology and methodologies into the DoD to enable a modern and agile Joint Force. With our sister organizations, the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) and National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC), we are helping to build enduring advantages by strengthening our national security innovation base and transforming our military capabilities and capacity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2023
Accession Number
AD1192615

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Air Force
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Climate Change
  • Coast Guard
  • Communication Systems
  • Computer Network Security
  • Computer Networks
  • Construction
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Detectors
  • National Security
  • Small Satellites
  • Space Force
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Warfare
  • Wearable Technology

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Economics
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Space