{"id":31005,"date":"2017-08-11T12:39:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T12:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/11\/experimental-defense-unit-funds-new-tech-but-faces-skeptics\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:32:44","slug":"experimental-defense-unit-funds-new-tech-but-faces-skeptics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/11\/experimental-defense-unit-funds-new-tech-but-faces-skeptics\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis, Hill Republicans clash over potential DIUx future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CAMBRIDGE, Mass. \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration is throwing its support to an Obama-era effort enlisting startup companies to come up with solutions to the military\u2019s toughest technological challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis made his first visit Thursday to the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, a 2-year-old effort that\u2019s investing in private companies building experimental drones, new cybersecurity technology and advanced communications systems for soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis said he expects the initiative, known as DIUx, will \u201cgrow in its influence and its impact\u201d under the Republican administration. In recent weeks, his office has taken steps to secure DIUx\u2019s place in the agency, including granting it greater authority to hire staff, negotiate contracts and promote its efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBig admirer of what they do out there, about the way they germinate ideas, the way they harvest ideas, from one breakthrough, rapidly, to another,\u201d Mattis said before meeting with staff and local industry leaders at DIUx\u2019s office in Mountain View, California, the hometown of Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program also has offices in Cambridge; Austin, Texas; and at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/10\/diux-sco-given-special-hiring-and-contracting-authorities\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3303830.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DIUx, SCO given special hiring and contracting authorities<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Two of the Pentagon\u2019s innovation offices have been granted special authorities to help speed the hiring of staff and awarding of contracts in a move that could allow the groups to flow commercial technology into the department quicker.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But DIUx continues to face questions from Republican leaders in Congress and others who view it as a still-unproven and possibly unnecessary venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees defense spending, agrees the military needs to better keep abreast of the innovation happening in the commercial sector. But he\u2019s unconvinced DIUx is the long-term solution and won\u2019t overlap with other advanced technology offices, like the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which dates to the 1950s and the space race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis question is: What is this office doing that\u2019s different from what others are doing?\u201d Thornberry said this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proof that DIUx is working is the significant number of projects it has undertaken in a relatively short amount of time and with minimal taxpayer investment, said Col. Michael McGinley, who heads DIUx\u2019s office in Cambridge, near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since opening its first office in California\u2019s Silicon Valley, DIUx has awarded $100 million in government contracts to 45 pilot projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3660\" height=\"2539\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg 3660w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg?resize=300,208 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg?resize=768,533 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,710 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1066 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17116559845000.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1421 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3660px) 100vw, 3660px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, is among Republican congressional leaders and others who view DIUx as a possibly unnecessary venture. (Manuel Balce Ceneta\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investments are modest since much of the heavy lifting has come from private investors, who have collectively pumped roughly $2 billion into the companies DIUx is working with, according to McGinley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the contracts have gone to startups and smaller firms that aren\u2019t among the big, traditional military suppliers, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing or Raytheon. That\u2019s a major objective of the initiative, which McGinley described as \u201ccomplementary\u201d to other military research organizations but with a distinctly different mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, under the military\u2019s traditional purchasing process, the contracts likely would have taken years longer to reach the point they\u2019re at now, by which time the technology would have become obsolete, he added. DIUx, by drastically simplifying the bidding process, is awarding contracts within four months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is changing the game in the way (the Department of Defense) operates and acquires new technology to support the war fighter,\u201d McGinley said. \u201cWe\u2019re not vaporware. We\u2019re producing tangible results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The office, with roughly 45 civilian and military staffers, focuses on five general areas: artificial intelligence, information technology, drones and other unmanned vehicles, and space and life sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of the 45 projects being piloted, three account for about a third of all spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tanium, in Emeryville, California, has been awarded $12.7 million to help the military better manage its IT and cybersecurity operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Composite Engineering, in Roseville, California, in partnership with three other companies, has been given $12.6 million to develop high-speed drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And London-based online game developer Improbable was awarded $5.8 million for a simulation program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the DIUx technologies already in use is software helping the Air Force make jet refueling more efficient, a $2.7 million contract that went to Pivotal Labs in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While DIUx may not be going away anytime soon, Congress has been reluctant to go all-in on in the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After receiving $20 million to launch in 2016, DIUx was given just $10 million for the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30, according to a DIUx spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration has sought roughly $30 million for it next year, but a key House committee has proposed slashing that request in half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DIUx deserves more time and resources, considering it\u2019s made \u201csubstantial progress\u201d after initial confusion over its mission and pushback from traditional defense contractors prompted an overhaul less than a year in, said Andrew Hunter, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Thornberry, the House Armed Services chairman, said he\u2019ll be looking for DIUx to make more compelling arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe question is: How much does this advance our capability,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat are you getting for it? That\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to get our arms around.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Mac Thornberry says he\u2019s unconvinced DIUx is a long-term solution and won\u2019t overlap with other advanced technology offices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":66728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1983],"class_list":["post-31005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZZX24CBB45BEHBJ64AKHOUQPNI","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/11\/experimental-defense-unit-funds-new-tech-but-faces-skeptics\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mattis, Hill Republicans clash over potential DIUx future - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rep. 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