In its next chapter, DIU aims to reduce the military’s ‘cost per kill’
In an exclusive interview with DefenseScoop, Owen West shared new details about his vision to reshape DIU’s operational structure to fit its modern mission.
By
Brandi Vincent
July 15, 2026
A target is hit by a first-person view small unmanned aircraft system strike during an FPV sUAS live fire demonstration at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 29, 2026. I Marine Expeditionary Force, in partnership with Defense Innovation Unit, evaluated fiber-optic drones for use in signal-degraded environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Bustamante)
Elevated by its new status as an official Pentagon Field Activity, the Defense Innovation Unit is maturing with funding and permanence under the leadership of its new director, Owen West, who welcomes the pressure his team is under to speedily deliver “measurable” weaponry and combat power to the U.S. military.
“This could be my last job — I don’t care. I just want to make sure that we get drones in the hands of troops, and we build up a capability in space that cannot be matched for 10 years by our enemies,” West told DefenseScoop.
Before he was tapped by Defense Department leadership to steer DIU and took the helm earlier this year, West worked as trading partner-in-charge of Goldman Sachs’ global natural gas and U.S. power businesses, served as a platoon commander and a reconnaissance platoon commander in the Marine Corps, and as the former assistant secretary of defense for special operations during the first Trump administration.
He has set an aggressive agenda for the 11-year-old innovation hub, focusing on highly practical and quickly deployable technologies that have strong backing from service members who rely on them for real-world warfare.
https://defensescoop.com/2026/07/15/diu-owen-west-aims-to-reduce-the-militarys-cost-per-kill/
