https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 13, 2022
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
position of the USD (R&E) as the third highest ranking
DOD official—behind the Secretary and Deputy
Secretary—is intended to promote faster innovation and to
increase risk-tolerance in the pursuit of new technologies.
Origin of the USD (R&E) Position
Leadership of DOD research, engineering, and technology
development activities and functions within the Office of
the Secretary of Defense (OSD) have varied 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) and the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment (USD (A&S)).
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.
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.”
Roles and Responsibilities of the USD
(R&E)
The powers and duties of the USD (R&E) include
serving as the chief technology officer (CTO) 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.
Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 5137.02
specifies 45 key functions and responsibilities of the USD
(R&E) and defines the authorities of the USD (R&E) and
his or her relationships with other senior DOD officials.
The responsibilities detailed in DODD 5137.02 include
managing the DOD science and technology (S&T) portfolio
to address near-term and far-term capability gaps against
emerging threats and ensuring that DOD technical
infrastructure, scientific and engineering capabilities, and
associated resources align with DOD priorities.
In the FY2022 NDAA (S. 1605), Congress designated the
USD (R&E) as the Chief Technical Advisor to the Joint
Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) with the intent of
assisting DOD “in taking full advantage of technological
possibilities, on-ramping new technologies into military
operations, and identifying new, affordable, and effective
means of achieving military ends.” S. 1605 also required an
independent study and report to Congress on the role of the
USD (R&E) in the JROC, including possible adjustments.
Organizational Structure of the OUSD
(R&E)
The organizational and management structure of the office
of the USD (R&E) (OUSD (R&E)) has evolved numerous
times from the original structure proposed in a 2017 DOD
report to Congress and from the structure approved by the
Deputy Secretary of Defense in a memorandum dated July
13, 2018. As shown in Figure 1, currently, the OUSD
(R&E) has three main subcomponents:
