Today, the Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office launched a rapid fielding effort to drive new initiatives that will speed up the adoption of advanced AI capabilities throughout the Defense Department. The AI Rapid Capabilities Cell (AI RCC) will collaborate with the Defense Innovation Unit on four initial Frontier AI pilots, applying generative AI models to warfighting and enterprise management scenarios. These pilot projects are part of AI RCC's larger strategy to leverage emerging technologies and equip warfighters and key DOD players with advanced AI tools. Dr. Radha Plumb, the department's Chief Digital and AI Officer with a Ph. D. in economics, emphasized the necessity for the DOD to embrace AI as she introduced the new initiatives. Plumb stated, "The U. S. , particularly its private sector, leads in artificial intelligence.

However, we must be mindful that countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are also ramping up their AI adoption, posing a significant national security threat. " In response, she noted that the DOD is employing "an all-hands-on-deck approach" to maintain U. S. leadership in AI adoption. "The U. S. 's enduring advantage lies in the commercial sector's innovation and our ability to integrate it into our critical missions, " Plumb said. Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit, stated that the CDAO-DIU partnership on AI RCC "will enable us to shape important AI initiatives from the outset, incorporating standards, policy, and requirements. " "This will help us scale technology faster and more reliably and alter the department's approach to software development and delivery, " he added. AI RCC will expedite and scale generative AI tools across 15 warfighting and enterprise management scenarios, from command and control to cybersecurity. These focus areas are based on findings from Task Force Lima, initiated by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in August 2023 to develop and monitor generative AI capabilities across the department. Task Force Lima will officially conclude with the establishment of the AI RCC. The Frontier AI pilots will address four of those use cases—two on warfighting and two on enterprise management—to demonstrate the impact of generative AI on defense applications. For these pilots, the CDAO will collaborate with combatant commands and DOD stakeholders to conduct experiments using the developing capabilities. This effort marks the first significant initiative to deploy state-of-the-art AI in real-time to support warfighter needs. Alongside the Frontier AI pilots, AI RCC will oversee investments in the infrastructure necessary to accelerate AI adoption, including creating digital "sandboxes" for AI testing and experimentation within government networks. AI RCC will also invest in rapid, user-focused experimentation through CDAO's Global Information Dominance Experiment series, allowing warfighters to test frontier AI models and give real-time feedback to developers. Additionally, Plumb announced that CDAO will allocate $40 million in Small Business Innovation Research funding to small and non-traditional businesses for innovative generative AI solutions.