These agreements will strengthen the DoD’s access to cutting-edge AI talent and technologies while allowing industry partners to better understand and respond to the Department’s operational needs. “The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” said Dr. Doug Matty, Chief Digital and AI Officer.
Dr. Matty added, “Leveraging commercially available solutions into an integrated capabilities approach will accelerate the use of advanced AI as part of our Joint mission essential tasks in our warfighting domain as well as intelligence, business, and enterprise information systems.” The move reflects a broader DoD strategy to adopt a commercial-first approach in integrating AI into defence operations.
The CDAO is also expanding access to generative AI models across the Department, including to Combatant Commands, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff. These models are being deployed through platforms such as the Army’s Enterprise Large Language Model Workspace powered by Ask Sage, and embedded within systems like Advana, Maven Smart System, and Edge Data Mesh nodes.
In parallel, the DoD is collaborating with the General Services Administration (GSA) to bring frontier AI capabilities to the wider federal government. This partnership aims to leverage whole-of-government buying power to secure advanced AI production and computing resources.
The CDAO exercised its own acquisition authority to issue the awards, showcasing its ability to respond swiftly to emerging technological and operational requirements. Its mission remains to accelerate AI, analytics, and data integration from the boardroom to the battlefield.
Source: CDAO (press release).
