Effective immediately, the Defense Department’s (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) will report to the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), a defense official confirmed to MeriTalk today.
The realignment marks the Pentagon’s next step in an “AI-first” strategy aimed at unifying efforts to accelerate artificial intelligence and data modernization across the military.
“By aligning the CDAO under the USD(R&E), we create a powerful innovation engine that can deliver AI superiority from laboratory to battlefield,” the defense official said. “This realignment is the next step in making a uniform, AI-first push for the [DoD].”
The CDAO was formed in late 2021 by consolidating several organizations – including the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Defense Digital Service, Office of the Chief Data Officer, and the Advana and Maven programs – to centralize oversight and accelerate the DoD’s data and AI efforts.
Since becoming fully operational in 2022, the CDAO has launched several key initiatives, including the Tradewind Solution Marketplace, the Pentagon’s Data, Analytics, and AI Adoption Strategy, and a minimum viable capability for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
From the start of the second Trump administration, the CDAO has experienced a wave of departures among senior leaders and technical staff. It’s unclear how this realignment will further affect the organizational structure of CDAO, but according to a defense official the CDAO will continue to carry out all current statutory responsibilities without disruption during the transition.
“This realignment will not create additional review layers or bureaucratic processes,” the official said.
This realignment follows the release of the White House’s AI Action Plan earlier this month, which calls on the Pentagon to accelerate adoption of AI across the defense enterprise –from warfighting to back-office operations. It also reflects the department’s growing focus on AI development, underscored by DoD’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, which for the first time includes a dedicated $13.4 billion line for autonomy and AI systems spanning unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous ground and maritime platforms, underwater capabilities, and supporting software.
Of this total, $200 million is earmarked specifically for AI and automation, with another $150 million to modernize legacy business systems. These investments support the plan’s goals to advance AI capabilities and improve DoD operations.