The War Department Overhauls Innovation Ecosystem to Accelerate Technology to the American Warfighter

The Department of War today announced a transformative realignment of the DoW’s innovation ecosystem under the leadership of Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Department. This overhaul replaces a historically fragmented system with a more unified and fast-paced innovation enterprise built to deliver technology to the warfighter with greater urgency. Commercial innovation demands clarity and speed, not long delays or uncertainty. This realignment is designed to push technology to the warfighter through faster decisions and a more focused innovation enterprise.

Effective today, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is designated a Department of War Field Activity. DIU will continue to provide technology scouting, rapid contracting, and commercial adoption services at the speed of industry and will work closely with the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity (MEIA) to connect operational problems directly to commercial solutions. The CTO will support DIU on administrative and resource matters and align its work with Department priorities, while the Director of DIU will continue to report directly to the Secretary as a Principal Staff Assistant (PSA). Leading DIU through this mandate is Owen West, appointed by Secretary Hegseth as its next Director.  Serving as Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict in President Trump’s first administration, West brings Marine Corps combat experience, private capital expertise and a warfighter’s mindset to DIU’s mission of moving commercial technology into the hands of the American warfighter.

The Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) is also being designated a Department of War Field Activity. SCO will continue to identify and prototype disruptive applications of new systems, unconventional uses of existing systems, and near-term technologies that create strategic effects. SCO will maintain its statutory reporting relationship to the Deputy Secretary but will be operationally aligned under the CTO to eliminate duplication and drive daily focus on delivering near-term capabilities.

DIU and SCO will both adopt term-limited appointments to maintain organizational agility and bring in top talent from the private sector and the operational force, ensuring a consistent flow of fresh ideas and technical insight.
Alongside this realignment, Cameron Stanley has been named as the new Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO). Stanley will drive Department-wide AI adoption across warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise use cases to deliver on President Trump’s mandate of American AI dominance.

These changes anchor a unified innovation ecosystem built around six execution organizations that will operate under the purview of the CTO:

• Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO)
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) 
• Office of Strategic Capital (OSC)
• Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO)
• Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) 

The newly established CTO Action Group (CAG) will anchor innovation alignment across the Department, driving accountability, clearing legacy blockers and ensuring transparency on transition decisions. In support of the CAG, the Military Services will reorganize their innovation ecosystems and present Service Innovation Plans that describe how they will focus the efforts of labs, research enterprises, experimental units and rapid capability offices around the three innovation outcomes of technology, product and operational capability innovation. These plans will also identify how acquisition portfolios will onramp innovation and what policy or legislative barriers require action. Services are valuable contributors to this ecosystem, not bystanders.

“We are rolling out the red carpet for innovators who want to work with the War Department,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. “This new structure creates a stronger identity for our innovation ecosystem and gives industry a more direct path to move technology into the hands of the American warfighter.” 

This realignment is a direct signal to industry that the War Department is focused on making faster decisions and transitioning breakthrough technology into the hands of America’s bravest warriors.