Skylar Moore•Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Central Command
Executive Summary
Central Command (CENTCOM) is pioneering a new model for rapid technology adoption within the DoD, driven by the strategic necessity of meeting mission requirements with fewer traditional assets.
The command has established a first-of-its-kind Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position and replicated the Navy's successful Task Force 59 model across its Army (Task Force 39) and Air Force (Task Force 99) components to accelerate innovation.
CENTCOM's strategy focuses on fielding mature, commercially-derived technologies within a 6-12 month timeframe, identifying the primary obstacles as policy, bureaucracy, and acquisition rather than technical challenges.
Key technology priorities include AI for computer vision and anomalous behavior detection to augment human operators, and counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), with lessons from the war in Ukraine heavily influencing development.
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Concerns Raised
The DoD's slow and bureaucratic acquisition process remains a major hurdle to rapid innovation.
The strategic shift of traditional military assets away from CENTCOM creates significant resource constraints.
The proliferation of low-cost, effective unmanned systems, such as Iranian drones used in Ukraine, poses a persistent and growing threat.
Opportunities Identified
Leveraging CENTCOM's active operational environment as a 'pathfinder' for technology adoption across the entire Department of Defense.
Directly integrating mature commercial technology to rapidly field new capabilities and bypass lengthy development cycles.
Using AI to augment human operators, creating a force multiplier effect for limited intelligence and operational assets.