AI
Feinberg orders major shakeup in Pentagon’s AI enterprise
DefenseScoop obtained a memo directing the realignment.
By
Brandi Vincent
August 15, 2025
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is taking over the “authority, direction, and control” of the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and AI Office, according to new guidance issued Thursday by Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg that presents an accelerated plan to disrupt and transform how the emerging technology is adopted across the Defense Department and military.
“By aligning the CDAO under the USD(R&E), we create a powerful innovation engine that can deliver Al superiority from laboratory to battlefield,” Feinberg wrote in a memorandum to Pentagon leadership, combatant commanders, and defense agency and DOD field activity directors.
The CDAO had previously been a direct report to the deputy SecDef.
DefenseScoop obtained a copy of the directive from a source who requested anonymity to share it on Friday, after others alerted the publication of its creation. A defense official subsequently acknowledged the memo’s existence in an email — noting that the CDAO will continue to execute all current statutory responsibilities without interruption during this transition.
“This realignment is the next step in making a uniform, AI-first push for the [DOD],” the defense official said. “[It] will not create additional review layers or bureaucratic processes.”
https://defensescoop.com/2025/08/15/feinberg-cdao-realignment-shakeup-dod-ai-enterprise/
