The Defense Innovation Unit, a DoD organization that contracts with commercial companies to solve national security problems, is five years old now. 40% of the office’s contracts have made it to production in its first five years.
- Michael Brown, Director of DIU, said scaling DIU has been key and that they started a record number of projects last year.
- Brown said using commercial solutions saves taxpayer dollars, and as Defense Department budgets become tighter over the next few years, it will be important to take advantage of these commercial technologies.
- Over the next five years, DIU would like to scale further, increase its transition rate and hopefully shorten the two-year, DoD-created “valley of death” during which they don’t have the necessary funds for a vendor prototype, said Brown.
