Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)
Abstract
The FY 2019 request funded the development of leading-edge technologies emerging from high-tech companies that are not traditional defense contractors. An objective of this program is to obtain innovative technological advancements developed in the commercial sector and integrate into the DoD technological ecosystem. In FY 2019, the DIU scaled commercial solutions essential to military-technical advantage across the joint force. Through predictive maintenance, DIU improved mission readiness by partnering with the Air Force to prototype predictive maintenance technology for the E-3 Sentry and C-5 Galaxy aircraft. The prototype reduced unscheduled maintenance by 20-40% and increased readiness by 3-6%. This prototype is being scaled across the Air Force's 5,400 military aircraft and to the Army's Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. The DIU also executed agile software development through Kessel Run, and saved taxpayer dollars by taking the Tanker Planning Tool from a white board to a digital application within four months at an initial cost of $1.5 million. The tool has saved more than $300 million and has scaled to a 300 person Air Force software development organization. Finally, DIU increased the National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) by receiving solution briefs from more than 1,200 companies based in 43 states and the District of Columbia. DIU is working with 122 non-traditional defense contractors, 66 of which are first-time DoD vendors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Source ID
- cc5fe412d9ef09357127e554b72cbda1