DoD News
Senior Officials Announced for the War Department’s Six Critical Technology Areas
WASHINGTON, D.C – Jan. 29, 2026 – The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) today announced the accountable leaders selected to direct the War Department’s six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs). These senior officials will lead the tangible “sprints” under each CTA, driving the development and delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to…
Read MoreWar Department Boards Merge to Form New Science, Technology and Innovation Board
WASHINGTON, D.C – Jan. 29, 2026 – Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today has approved a major overhaul of the War Department’s legacy advisory boards, directing the merger of the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) and the Defense Science Board (DSB) into the new Science and Technology Innovation Board (STIB), pending formal establishment by the Federal…
Read MoreWar Department Offers No-Fee Patent Licenses Through Patent Holiday Initiative to Accelerate Technology from Lab to the Warfighter
WASHINGTON, D.C – Jan. 22, 2026 – The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) has launched a pilot program providing no-fee commercial evaluation licenses (CEL) for a curated selection of patents from War Department laboratories. This initiative maximizes the value of the Department’s $3.5 billion annual research investment by…
Read MoreOverhaul of the DoW’s Innovation Ecosystem
Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an overhaul of the War Department’s innovation ecosystem, which will now be led by Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Research and Engineering and the Department’s CTO. This overhaul is designed to create a more unified and fast-paced enterprise to deliver technology to the warfighter with greater urgency. Under the new…
Read MoreRelease of the War Department’s AI Acceleration Strategy
Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the War Department’s AI Acceleration Strategy. This strategy is built on three pillars: warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations. It will be executed through seven key “Pace-Setting Projects” designed to rapidly advance capabilities. These projects include developing AI-powered swarms and battle management agents, accelerating the conversion of intelligence into weapons, and providing…
Read MoreThe War Department’s Office of Research and Engineering Strengthens Measures to Protect DoW Funded Research
January 8, 2026 Today, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Emil Michael announced new actions to protect Department of War (DoW)-funded research from malign foreign influence, intellectual property theft, and other forms of exploitation that threaten the security and economic interests of the United States. The Fundamental Research Security Initiatives and Implementation memorandum…
Read MoreDOD Is Now DOW
Sept. 5, 2025, By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order today changing the Defense Department’s name to the Department of War as a secondary title. Go to Article
Read MoreNotice on Indirect Cost Rates for Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education
July 18, 2025 Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael signed the attached memorandum on June 12, 2025, to deviate from negotiated indirect cost rates for assistance awards to institutions of higher education and to implement a 15 percent indirect cost rate cap for awards to such institutions. Learn More
Read MoreOUSW R&E’s APFIT Program Boosts Small Business Innovation with Record Funding Level
June 17, 2025 ARLINGTON, VA – The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program broke its funding record for small businesses in fiscal year 2025 with a four-fold increase in investments into projects that will accelerate technologies to warfighters. Learn More
Read MoreDefense Innovators Unite: OASW(MC) Sparks Game-Changing Tech Talks with Industry
June 11, 2025 On June 6, 2025, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) buzzed with energy as over 270 defense industry trailblazers—think big names and scrappy tech startups—joined forces with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mission Capabilities (OASW(MC)). Learn More
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