The Defense Innovation Initiative (DII)

Exploring Ideas to Better Identify the “Art of the Possible” for National Security

The Defense Innovation Initiative (DII) is a Department-wide initiative to pursue innovative ways to sustain and advance the capabilities of the “force of the future.” The U.S. changed the security landscape in the 1970s and 1980s with networked precision strike, stealth and surveillance for conventional forces. Through the DII, the Department will identify a third offset strategy that puts the competitive advantage firmly in the hands of American power projection over the coming decades.

Two key efforts that align with DII are the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental (DIUx) and the Long-Range Research and Development Program Plan.

Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx)

With outposts in the heart of Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin, Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), serves as a bridge between DoD components executing on some of our nation's toughest security challenges and companies operating at the cutting edge of technology.

DIUx continuously iterates on how best to identify and contract novel innovation from sources traditionally not available to DoD, with the ultimate goal of accelerating this technology into the hands of the men and women in uniform.

Long-Range Research and Development Planning Program (LRRDPP)

The LRRDDP was designed to help the Department better understand and prioritize new or unconventional application of technology in an effort to provide the U.S. with significant military technological advantage into the future. A Request for Information was issued to identify system concepts that will have significant impact in the 2025-2030 timeframe, and to identify the steps the department should be taking today to nurture the technology development required to make those system concepts a reality. A large number of responses were received, and all inputs have been reviewed.