“We will speed up the timeline of rapid innovation. We have to, on behalf of our warfighters, on behalf of the threats that we face around the globe, on behalf of the changing face of warfare,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.

During the “Multi-Domain Autonomous Solutions” event in the Pentagon courtyard, Hegseth and other Defense Department leaders shared new details about their near-term plans to quickly and drastically enhance the military’s drone arsenal, and deepen partnerships with producers across the sprawling American industrial base as they confront a range of contemporary policy and supply chain challenges. 

Eighteen autonomous prototypes currently under accelerated development to support joint military operations were showcased at the event, which was hosted by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. 

Some of those systems included the long-endurance unmanned aerial system with a 36-foot wingspan dubbed Vanilla and the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, or GARC — a small unmanned surface vehicle that can deploy independently or as a swarm.

“[This is] really a whole effort to sort of adapt to the current threat environment, which has changed in the last … year. And what you see here is a response to that. And you’ll see continued iterations — we are not stopping. This is just the beginning of what a rapid program looks like, and a rapid effort looks like,” Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael told reporters.

The prototypes on display, he noted, went from concept to development in an average of 18 months.

“It’s an extraordinary achievement. This kind of thing was going to take five, six years,” Michael said.

It’s no secret that over the last half-decade, the U.S. military has increasingly faced serious challenges with buying, integrating and defending against unmanned systems. Further, while America has excelled at producing sophisticated, high-priced drones, the industrial base is struggling to compete with the proliferation of smaller and lower-cost systems being developed by China, Iran and other adversaries.

DOD leaders during the Biden administration launched the Replicator initiative in August 2023, with the overarching vision to accelerate industrial production and the military’s adoption of different drones in multiple combat domains through replicable processes by mid-2025. Future plans to continue or cancel that effort have not been revealed by Trump appointees to date.

“This is not the Replicator initiative,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prototyping and Experimentation Alex Lovett said at the event. “The Replicator phase I tranche was looking at scaling. What we were able to do is — and you’ll see some of the platforms here were also participating in the evaluation of that — but our experimentation identified capabilities that were ready to scale for some of those.”

DOD’s new approach to “rapid prototyping experimentation,” according to Lovett, marks the institutionalization of the now defunct Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER), also set up under the Biden administration, to get new technologies in the hands of combatant command users as early as possible for testing and refinement.

“What we learned is: Yes, that is good and it is working. We don’t need a separate program telling me to go do RDER. We’ve adopted that and established [Mission Capabilities] under Mr. Michael as an entire directorate that does mission-based analysis, engineering experimentation, and operational assessment to facilitate the transition. So we’ve completely adopted that, and we’re continuing to do operational experimentation,” Lovett explained. 

Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) events were a key component of those RDER pursuits in recent years. 

For now, the T-REX live-fire exercises and prototype demonstrations are set to continue to unfold at least twice a year to help military users assess the capabilities of new and innovative technologies for use in real-world operations.

“If you’re looking for a new initiative, part of this enabling of drone dominance [per Hegseth’s guidance] is the services now are standing up, [first-person view] drone schools and drone capabilities. At this next T-REX [in August], we will be starting to host ‘Top Gun’ school. We’re going to start playing red versus blue. Their best will come after our best defenses,” Lovett told DefenseScoop at the event.

“We are [also] looking at how to expand our T-REX too, in conjunction with NASA and the [Federal Aviation Administration] and the department. So again, across the whole federal government, that says we’re working together and breaking down the barriers,” he said.

All of the drones on display Wednesday already passed through the T-REX program and are being evaluated by the services for transition and fielding.

“What we’re trying to do is lower the barriers [and] invite more people in to do experimentation if they want to — but there’ll be other kinds of things [as well],” Michael said.

In his view, President Donald Trump’s recent drone-accelerating executive orders and Hegseth’s related memorandum will help address policy constraints and open the DOD’s aperture for drones and systems to accept.

“[They] say, ‘Hey, we’re open for business. We want your inventions. We want you to be qualified on our [Blue UAS] list, and we want the services to see what you can have — so you can build it, so that they can buy it,’” Michael said.

The undersecretary declined to comment on any forthcoming plans to change or cancel the 14 critical technology areas identified under the previous administration for strategic and focused investments. 

In response to questions from DefenseScoop on that topic, Michael responded: “It’s drone day!” 

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The nomination was submitted to the Senate last week and has been referred to the Armed Services Committee for consideration, according to a notice posted on Congress.gov.

A White House announcement and the congressional notice said Caggy was tapped for a “new” ASD position, without providing additional information. A senior congressional official on Tuesday confirmed that Caggy has been nominated to be ASD for mission capabilities. Although the role was created during the Biden administration, it’s still considered “new” in bureaucratic parlance because it’s never been filled by a Senate-confirmed official.

Marcia Holmes was recently performing the duties of ASD for mission capabilities, according to a Defense Department org chart.

If confirmed, Caggy would oversee efforts to develop and support future warfighting concepts and “integrated architectures,” close capability gaps in support of defense modernization, and regularly engage with the joint force and combatant commanders, among other duties, according to a DOD description of the mission capabilities portfolio. The office is tasked with helping execute joint and interagency prototyping and experiments; identifying, developing and demonstrating “multi-domain” concepts and technology; and leveraging multiple prototyping pathways to address “operational gaps” and accelerate capabilities to warfighters.

According to DOD, a key goal for the ASD position is to help get capabilities across the so-called “Valley of Death,” a term used by members of the Pentagon’s acquisition community that refers to challenges in transitioning promising technologies from research and development into production and fielding.

“ASD(MC) serves as a transition partner through innovative and efficient experimentation strategies with the end goal of not just prototyping and fielding, but operational sustainment via scalability, producibility, and training,” according to the Defense Department.

Caggy highlighted his nomination in a LinkedIn post over the holiday weekend.

“If confirmed, I’ll bring the same mission first, bureaucracy last mindset that’s driven me my entire career. Collaborating with all to deliver the best American capabilities for the Joint Force. Working with a team of Doers grounded in humility, egos set aside in favor of doing what’s right for Warfighters and, ultimately, the country,” he wrote.

Caggy recently served as an advisor to the Strategic Capabilities Office in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. From 2013 to 2023, he held executive roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), including general manager and director (L8) for secure connection services, and senior manager for DOD solutions. He also has military experience, having previously served as an Army infantry officer in the active duty and Reserve components for about 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Defense Department’s research and engineering directorate is led by former Uber executive Emil Michael, who took the helm as undersecretary for R&E and chief technology officer in May.

Other Trump nominees for senior positions in the directorate are still going through the Senate confirmation process.

Last month, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Michael Dodd, also known as “The DoddFather,” who was tapped to be assistant secretary of defense for critical technologies. The Senate has yet to vote on his confirmation.

In late March, Trump nominated Joseph Jewell, a hypersonics expert, to serve as assistant secretary of defense for science and technology. His confirmation hearing hasn’t been scheduled.

Last week, the president also nominated James Mazol to be deputy undersecretary of defense for R&E. Mazol had been performing the duties of that position in the months leading up to his nomination. Prior to joining the Trump administration, he was Republican policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee and had responsibility for science and technology policy and programs, according to his DOD bio.

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In that position, Michael will serve as the primary advisor to the secretary of defense and other Defense Department leaders on tech development and transition, prototyping, experimentation, and management of testing ranges and activities. He’ll also be in charge of synchronizing science and technology efforts across the DOD.

Michael comes to the job from the private sector, where he’s been a business executive, advisor and investor. He told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that he’s been involved with more than 50 different tech companies during his career. Perhaps most notable, from 2013 to 2017, he was chief business officer at Uber.

In government, he previously served as special assistant to the secretary of defense when Robert Gates was Pentagon chief.

Michael was born in Egypt and his family moved to the United States when he was a child to escape what he described as hostility to Christians.

“Emil has lived the American Dream by building several successful Tech companies, including Uber,” then President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement in December when he announced his pick for Pentagon R&E chief, adding that Michael will “ensure that our Military has the most technologically sophisticated weapons in the World, while saving A LOT of money for our Taxpayers.”

Michael touted his business background during his confirmation hearing in March and in responses to written questions from senators. He noted that he previously served on the Defense Business Board, which provides independent advice to Pentagon leaders on business management issues.

“I am a firm believer that bringing best practices from the private sector into the Department is a top priority because, if adopted effectively, they will streamline operation and allocate resources more appropriately,” Michael told lawmakers.

He suggested that some research and development programs could end up on the chopping block under his watch, saying Pentagon officials need to have the discipline to “stop projects that are failing” and focus S&T investments on “only those things that are aligned on our ‘peace through strength’ mission.”

“Time must be a factor in all of our decisions as we confront an increasingly sophisticated adversary in China, which not only has lower labor costs, but is notorious for intellectual property theft, making its research and development … even faster and less expensive than we could have imagined only a decade ago,” he said.

Michael also told senators that he would work to “recast” the relationship between the Defense Department and the emerging tech sector.

“The DOD needs to foster a more robust and competitive defense industrial base by providing more realistic requirements, inviting smaller and innovative companies with less burdensome processes, becoming more agile in how and when we grant contracts. The private sector too should bear some more responsibility for the risks of their own failure. A healthy ecosystem will provide for weapons that are better, cheaper and faster,” he said at his confirmation hearing.

He suggested venture capitalists could play an even larger role in supporting the defense industrial base, particularly for small businesses that need additional funding to thrive in that marketplace. For example, he told lawmakers that, if confirmed, he would look for opportunities under Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs for small businesses to leverage VC investment.

The Pentagon’s R&E chief plays a key role in fostering next-generation military capabilities and overseeing work on the “critical technology areas” that the Pentagon has identified. Those areas currently include trusted AI and autonomy; space; integrated sensing and cyber; integrated network systems of systems; microelectronics; human-machine interfaces; advanced materials; directed energy; advanced computing and software; hypersonics; biotech; quantum; FutureG wireless tech; and “energy resilience.”

“If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the work being done in all 14 Critical Technology Areas and ensuring the Department’s resources are focused on our most critical challenges with the right amount of weight behind each area,” Michael told lawmakers.

He highlighted AI, autonomous systems, quantum computing, directed energy and hypersonics as some of his top priorities, if confirmed.

The R&E directorate is also expected to play a major role in Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

Michael noted that Golden Dome will require systems engineers across the DOD to collaborate on architecture and software, in partnership with the development and acquisition communities.

After he’s sworn in, Michael will take over for James Mazol, who has been performing the duties of undersecretary for R&E during the early months of the second Trump administration. Heidi Shyu was the last person to hold the role in a Senate-confirmed capacity during the Biden administration.

Updated on May 15, 2025, at 4:15 PM: A previous version of this story stated that “renewable energy generation and storage” was one of DOD’s 14 “critical technology areas.” While that was the case during the Biden administration, the Trump administration has changed the focus to “energy resilience.” This story has been updated to reflect that change.

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Jewell’s nomination was sent to Capitol Hill Monday and will be considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to a notice posted on Congress.gov.

An experienced aerospace engineer, Jewell has spent decades in both academia and government working on hypersonics research and development. He most recently served as an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University, where he was the director of the school’s Mach 6 quiet wind tunnel that’s able to test hypersonic capabilities. Jewell also spent two years researching hypersonics technology at the Air Force Research Laboratory, according to his LinkedIn bio.

The S&T job at the Pentagon that Jewell has been tapped for, was one of the new roles established in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act as part of a reorganization within the department’s research and engineering directorate. Aprille Ericsson held that position during the Biden administration.

If confirmed, Jewell would be tasked to oversee the Defense Department’s extensive S&T enterprise — including emerging technologies, workforce, laboratories, and partnerships with industry and academia. Key initiatives for the office include FutureG, quantum science, advanced manufacturing and hypersonics research, among others.

Jewell’s experience with hypersonics would be helpful for the DOD. Development of the advanced weapons — able to fly at speeds of Mach 5 or greater while maneuvering through the atmosphere — has been a top priority for the department. However, several ongoing programs have struggled in recent years, largely due to limited test infrastructure and the technology’s complexity.

Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump has taken interest in bolstering the United States’ homeland missile defense via his Golden Dome effort, formerly known as the “Iron Dome For America.” The project looks to build a multi-layered architecture that can effectively track and defeat a range of threats, including hypersonic systems. To that end, the Pentagon will need kinetic and non-kinetic mechanisms — as well as infrastructure to test and validate them — to intercept adversary weapons.

The assistant secretary of defense for S&T is nested under the Pentagon’s undersecretary for research and engineering. Trump’s nominee for that position is Emil Michael, former chief business officer at Uber, who is awaiting confirmation by the Senate.

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The nomination was received on Capitol Hill on Monday and referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee for consideration, according to a notice posted on Congress.gov.

Dodd — who puts out a newsletter called the “The DoddFather Diaries” about defense technology and innovation — is currently principal for the energy portfolio at the National Security Innovation Capital component of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit. Previously, he was university program director at DIU’s National Security Innovation Network and served for more than 11 years in the Marine Corps, according to his LinkedIn.

National Security Innovation Capital aims to accelerate the development of next-generation hardware technologies critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. The organization awards Other Transaction agreements to vendors to enable “dual-use hardware startups to advance key milestones in their product development by addressing the shortfall of private investment from trusted sources,” and “circumvent adversarial capital,” according to its website.

Key focus areas include tech related to autonomy, communications, power, sensors and space.

The position of ASD for critical technologies was established in 2023 as part of a reorganization within the R&E directorate — which oversees the development of next-generation capabilities for the U.S. military — in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Maynard Holliday performed the duties of the position during the Biden administration but no one has ever been Senate-confirmed for the role.

Its responsibilities include establishing roadmaps to set the technical direction for the Defense Department and align industry, academia and international partners with DOD’s vision; identify and leverage “synergies” between critical technology areas “to amplify impact” for warfighters; raise the technical literacy of the workforce; keep a constant eye on the state-of-the-art; and recognize “the quickest route to critical technology, fast follow the commercial sector where appropriate, [and] take the lead when not,” according to the Pentagon.

The job holder has oversight of 11 principal directors focused on 5G; advanced computing and software, directed energy, human-machine interfaces, hypersonics, integrated network systems-of-systems, integrated sensing and cyber, microelectronics, renewable energy generation and storage, space, and AI and autonomy.

If confirmed, Dodd could end up working under Emil Michael, who Trump nominated to be the next undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. Michael — whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday — was previously a chief business officer at Uber, the ridesharing company, from 2013 to 2017. He has also been president of Technology Advisory and Consulting Services, chief operating officer of Klout, and special assistant to the secretary of defense.

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Trump’s pick for deputy SecDef, billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg, is the co-founder, co-CEO and chief investment officer for global investment and private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. He has a net worth of approximately $5 billion, according to Forbes. Unlike many previous nominees for the Pentagon’s No. 2 position, Feinberg has no prior experience working at the Defense Department.

He served as chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board — which assesses the performance of the U.S. intelligence community, including IC activities, organizational structure, management and personnel, and makes recommendations for improvements — during Trump’s first term. He’s also donated to organizations supporting Trump’s presidential campaigns.

In a statement, the president-elect described Feinberg as an “extremely successful businessman” who will “help Make the Pentagon Great Again.”

If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Feinberg would be set to play a key role in shaping the U.S. military’s modernization efforts.

The deputy secretary historically has had a strong hand in managing DOD’s sprawling enterprise as well as shaping high-level resourcing and policy decisions. In recent years, that person has also spearheaded major modernization initiatives. For example, Kathleen Hicks, who has been serving in that post during the Biden administration, launched the Replicator initiative last year to accelerate the fielding of cutting-edge drones and autonomous systems.

Feinberg’s career path includes decades of experience as an investor.

Cerberus describes itself as “a global leader in alternative investing with approximately $66 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.” The firm’s venture investing platform, Cerberus Ventures, “seeks to partner with entrepreneurs and companies building technologies to accelerate innovation in areas critical for the public and private sectors,” according to a recent press release.

The organization has previously invested in companies that do contracting work for the Defense Department.

For example, earlier this year Cerberus announced that it acquired Calspan’s hypersonic and defense test systems business units from TransDigm Group, and formed North Wind, which was described in a press release as “an independent business centrally focused on the advancement of the United States’ hypersonic test capability through ground-based facility design, build and operations, testing, and analysis.”

Cerberus has also hired former senior DOD officials.

Last year, retired Gen. John “Jay” Raymond — who served as the first-ever chief of space operations after the Space Force was established during the first Trump administration — joined the firm as a senior managing director on its “Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities” platform.

Prior to co-founding Cerberus, Feinberg managed pools of capital for Gruntal & Co. He also previously worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert, according to his Cerberus bio.

Trump’s selection of Feinberg isn’t the first time that he’s tapped a business executive without previous Pentagon employment experience to serve as the department’s No. 2. During his first term, he picked longtime Boeing exec Patrick Shanahan to take that role.

The Washington Post first reported Feinberg as Trump’s preference for the deputy SecDef position in his second term.

On Sunday, the president-elect also announced his picks for other key posts that will shape U.S. military modernization.

He selected Michael Duffey, who has previously held a number of government roles, to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. As head of the A&S directorate, Duffey would be the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer.

Duffey previously served as associate director of national security programs in the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration. He also has Pentagon experience, having held the posts of deputy chief of staff to the secretary of defense and chief of staff to the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, among other roles, according to his bio on the website for the United Coalition for Advanced Nuclear Power, where he has held the position of treasurer.

“Mike has been a strong advocate for our Warfighters and the American Taxpayer throughout his many years of public service,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will drive change at the Pentagon and, as a staunch proponent of an America First approach to our National Defense, will work to revitalize our Defense Industrial Base, and rebuild our Military.”

The president-elect also announced that he chose businessman Emil Michael to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. The R&E chief plays a key role in fostering next-generation military capabilities and overseeing critical technology areas for the Pentagon’s research-and-development enterprise, including trusted AI and autonomy; space; integrated sensing and cyber; integrated network systems of systems; renewable energy generation and storage; microelectronics; human-machine interfaces; advanced materials; directed energy; advanced computing and software; hypersonics; biotech; quantum; and FutureG wireless tech.

Michael was chief business officer at Uber, the ridesharing company, from 2013 to 2017. He has also been president of Technology Advisory and Consulting Services, chief operating officer of Klout, and special assistant to the secretary of defense, among other positions he’s held, according to his LinkedIn bio.

“Emil has lived the American Dream by building several successful Tech companies, including Uber,” Trump said in a statement, adding that he will “ensure that our Military has the most technologically sophisticated weapons in the World, while saving A LOT of money for our Taxpayers.”

Meanwhile, author and former senior DOD official Elbridge “Bridge” Colby was selected by Trump to be undersecretary of defense for policy. Colby served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the first Trump administration, where he helped develop the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which prioritized great power competition with China and Russia.

Colby subsequently penned the book “Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict.” He’s called for focusing U.S. military efforts on countering China in the Indo-Pacific and devoting fewer resources to conflicts in other regions.

In a statement, Trump described Colby as a “highly respected advocate for our America First foreign and defense policy,” adding that he will be expected to work closely with the next secretary of defense “to restore our Military power, and achieve my policy of PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Their nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

On Sunday, Trump also announced that he chose Keith Bass to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and Joe Kasper to be chief of staff for the secretary of defense.

Last month, the president-elect announced that he wanted Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and author who previously served in the Army National Guard, to be his defense secretary. He’s also tapped Daniel Driscoll to be secretary of the Army and John Phelan to be secretary of the Navy.

Additional picks for other top Pentagon posts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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