Pentagon eyes new office to centralize tech acquisition

The Pentagon is considering a major restructuring of its innovation offices to shift focus from research to fielding advanced weapon systems, according to a senior defense official as reported by Defense One.

The proposed plan would merge parts of the Strategic Capabilities Office, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) into a new entity modeled after DARPA but focused on commercial engineering. The initiative reflects the Trump administration’s emphasis on immediate warfighting capabilities over long-term technology investments.

DIU’s procurement functions would shift to this new organization, with funding sourced from service program executive offices (PEOs) instead of joint budgets. Additionally, the Pentagon aims to offload more research-and-development costs onto defense contractors rather than government-backed funding.