Updated February 4 2020 Defense Primer Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Advances in science and technology have long played a critical role in ensuring the technological preeminence of the United States military For this reason the Department of Defense DOD is the largest funder of federal research and development The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering USD R E is a civilian official reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense The USD R E serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for DOD research engineering and technology development activities and programs Over the last several years policymakers and others have expressed concern that the long-held technological edge of the U S military is eroding due in part to the proliferation of technologies outside the defense sector organizational and cultural barriers to DOD effectively incorporating and exploiting commercial innovations and insufficient engagement with leading-edge companies that have not historically been a part of the DOD innovation system The establishment of the USD R E as the fourth highest ranking DOD official—behind the Secretary Deputy Secretary and Chief Management Officer—was intended to promote faster innovation and to reduce risk-intolerance in the pursuit of new technologies Origin of the USD R E Position Leadership for DOD research engineering and technology development activities and functions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense OSD has been realigned multiple times over the course of DOD’s history For example there was a USD R E from 1977 to 1986 Reestablishment of the position of the USD R E in 2016 through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 FY2017 NDAA P L 114-328 represents the most recent realignment Specifically P L 114-328 eliminated the position of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Technology and Logistics USD AT L and established the positions of USD R E the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment USD A S and chief management officer effective February 1 2018 In reestablishing the position of USD R E the Senate Armed Services Committee stated S Rept 114-255 The committee expects that just as previous USD R E incumbents led the so-called “Second Offset” strategy which successfully enabled the United States to leap ahead of the Soviet Union in terms of military technology the new USD R E would be tasked with driving the key technologies that must encompass what defense leaders are now calling a “Third Offset” strategy cyber and space capabilities unmanned systems directed energy undersea warfare hypersonics and robotics among others Roles and Responsibilities of the USD R E The powers and duties of the USD R E include  serving as the chief technology officer of DOD with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the military services and DOD  establishing policies on and supervising all defense research and engineering technology development technology transition appropriate prototyping activities experimentation and developmental testing activities and programs and unifying defense research and engineering efforts across DOD and  serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all research engineering and technology development activities and programs in DOD Furthermore in the conference report H Rept 114-840 for the FY2017 NDAA the conferees stated their expectation that the USD R E “would take risks press the technology envelope test and experiment and have the latitude to fail as appropriate ” On December 11 2017 President Trump nominated Michael D Griffin to be the USD R E His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on February 15 2018 Office of the USD R E As required by P L 114-328 DOD submitted a report to Congress proposing an organizational and management structure for the office of the USD R E OUSD R E According to the 2017 report the OUSD R E is to be organized around three major components  A Strategic Intelligence Analysis Cell focused on understanding the capabilities and vulnerabilities of potential adversaries assessing U S capabilities tracking global technology trends assessing emerging threats and identifying potential opportunities that warrant action and merit investment  An Assistant Secretary of Defense ASD for Research and Technology responsible for setting the strategic technical direction and investment strategy for DOD to ensure technical dominance on the battlefield integrating DOD’s laboratory infrastructure and providing stewardship of the technical community that conducts defense research  An ASD for Advanced Capabilities responsible for prototyping and experimentation that is designed to increase understanding of a technology and its capabilities drive down technical risk and incorporate warfighter feedback to ensure concepts that transition to https crsreports congress gov Defense Primer Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering acquisition address the needed capability and are timely and affordable On July 13 2018 the Deputy Secretary of Defense signed a memorandum approving the organizational structure roles and responsibilities of the OUSD R E The three major components described in the 2017 report to Congress are reflected in the final structure of OUSD R E except the assistant secretaries are now directors and will not need Senate confirmation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA Strategic Capabilities Office SCO and Defense Innovation Unit DIU report directly to the USD R E through a new Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering DUSD R E In 2019 the Space Development Agency SDA was created under the OUSD R E with the goal of accelerating the development and fielding of new military space capabilities Additionally a director for modernization was added to the OUSD R E and assigned the responsibility of overseeing research and technical areas deemed critical to maintaining the advantage of the U S military e g quantum science space and hypersonics Each of the priority areas is led by an assistant or technical director Assistant directors report to the USD R E through the director for modernization while technical directors report directly to the USD R E and DUSD R E USD R E and USD A S Relationship A wide range of observers see a close and cooperative relationship between the USD R E and the USD A S as critical for the efficient and effective delivery of advanced technologies to the warfighter especially at the fast pace many expect is needed to maintain the U S technological lead over potential adversaries Some have expressed concerns that dividing the roles and responsibilities of the USD AT L into an USD R E and an USD A S will exacerbate the valley of death i e the barriers and challenges that exist in bringing a new technology from the research laboratory to full scale deployment in the armed forces In the conference report H Rept 114-840 for the FY2017 NDAA the conferees acknowledged the potential challenges that exist in separating the roles and responsibilities of the USD AT L into the positions of a USD R E and a USD A S However the conference report asserts that elevating the missions of advancing technology and innovation within DOD fostering distinct technology and acquisition cultures to better deliver superior capabilities and providing greater oversight and management of DOD components outside the military services would best be addressed by the creation of two undersecretaries Furthermore the conferees indicated that any potential barriers or gaps could “be mitigated through effective leadership and management ” In an effort to bridge gaps between the two offices the July 13 memorandum requires the USD R E to participate in Milestone Decisions through the lifecycle of a Major Defense Acquisition Program and advise the USD A S as appropriate including serving on the Defense Acquisition Board for certain programs Relevant Statutes Title 10 U S Code Chapter 4—Office of the Secretary of Defense CRS Products CRS In Focus IF10553 Defense Primer RDT E CRS Report R45403 The Global Research and Development Landscape and Implications for the Department of Defense CRS Report R45068 Acquisition Reform in the FY2016-FY2018 National Defense Authorization Acts NDAAs Other Resources William D O'Neil and Gene H Porter What to Buy The Role of Director of Defense Research and Engineering DDR E Lessons from the 1970s Institute for Defense Analyses IDA Paper P4675 Alexandria VA January 2011 Figure 1 Organizational Chart for Office of USD R E Source Adapted from Attachment 1 Department of Defense Memorandum from Deputy Secretary of Defense on Establishment of the Office of USD R E and the Office of the USD A S July 13 2018 and https www cto mil leadership accessed on January 30 2020 Marcy E Gallo Analyst in Science and Technology Policy https crsreports congress gov Defense Primer Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering IF10834 Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service CRS CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role CRS Reports as a work of the United States Government are not subject to copyright protection in the United States Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS However as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material https crsreports congress gov IF10834 · VERSION 7 · UPDATED