A normal view of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
The head of a Pentagon unit answerable for accelerating the army’s adoption of latest know-how resigned on Monday, in response to 4 folks aware of the matter, the latest exit of a senior military official whose political opinions have clashed with these of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Doug Beck, director of the Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit, instructed employees in an e-mail that he was stepping down, the folks mentioned. He didn’t present a purpose for his departure in the e-mail, however wrote that working on the DIU was “basically the greatest honor of my life,” in response to an individual with direct data of the e-mail.
He wrote that the DIU shall be transitioned to new management overseen by Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. “I will help, however I can from my private capacity,” added Beck, in response to the supply.
Three of the sources mentioned officers on the Department of Defense had beforehand raised issues about political donations made by Beck to Democrats.
The DIU declined to remark. The Pentagon didn’t reply to a remark request. Reuters was unable to right away attain Beck for remark.
Beck’s departure is the latest high-profile exit from the Pentagon. Last week, the chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency, head of the U.S. Naval Reserve and the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command had been eliminated by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Reuters beforehand reported.
Beck’s departure comes at a vital second for the DIU, which collaborates with army know-how corporations growing drones and AI-driven weapons. These account for a rising share of the Pentagon’s spending and are reshaping fashionable warfare.
The DIU was launched in 2015 to hurry up the U.S. army’s adoption of know-how popping out of Silicon Valley. The unit, which final 12 months obtained near $1 billion from the National Defense Authorization Act, primarily grants contracts to smaller startup firms with less-proven observe data with the aim of transitioning them to bigger contracts throughout the Pentagon.
Beck, a particular operations veteran who beforehand held high roles at McKinsey, Charles Schwab and Apple, was appointed director of DIU in 2023 by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He oversaw the DIU’s embrace of autonomous know-how, and its position in spearheading the Replicator initiative, which goals to amass 1000’s of autonomous aerial and maritime drones to fight China.