{"id":37912,"date":"2025-08-27T17:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T17:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2025\/08\/27\/pentagon-cto-says-defense-innovation-unit-will-remain-independent\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:14:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:14:58","slug":"pentagon-cto-says-defense-innovation-unit-will-remain-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2025\/08\/27\/pentagon-cto-says-defense-innovation-unit-will-remain-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon CTO says Defense Innovation Unit will remain independent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Defense Department\u2019s chief technology officer told reporters Wednesday he doesn\u2019t intend to maintain permanent oversight of the Defense Innovation Unit, adding that the Pentagon is looking for a full-time replacement following the former director\u2019s resignation earlier this week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following previous DIU Director Doug Beck\u2019s sudden resignation from the role Monday, the Pentagon announced Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael would lead the organization in an acting capacity<\/a>. While the decision at least temporarily puts DIU under Michael\u2019s purview, he was adamant the move was not permanent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDIU is a separate organization independently created in law with its own mission set,\u201d Michael told reporters on the sidelines of a National Defense Industrial Association conference in Washington, D.C. \u201cI\u2019m acting until we find a full-time person.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When DIU was first established in 2015 as a Defense Department outpost for Silicon Valley tech firms<\/a>, it reported to the Pentagon\u2019s head of research and engineering \u2014 a construct that senior leaders said impeded its influence. The following year, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter elevated the office to report directly to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2018, it was shuffled back within the research and engineering portfolio, where it remained until 2023. At that time, former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin again gave it a direct reporting line<\/a>. Congress codified the office\u2019s structure in the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which states that DIU\u2019s director \u201cshall report directly to the Secretary without intervening authority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Michael won\u2019t permanently wear the DIU director hat, at least for now, the Pentagon did recently expand his office\u2019s scope. The department announced Aug. 20 that the Chief Digital and AI Office, formerly an independent organization, would reside within research and engineering moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the Pentagon said the move would \u201caccelerate Department-wide AI transformation.\u201d Michael reiterated that message Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving it be part of R&E means that it\u2019s part of a larger organization that hopefully has the muscle and the wherewithal to further develop and do bigger partnerships … and then more easily proliferate that technologies into various areas of the department,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\t