Overview

• Daniel Driscoll detailed the FUZE initiative’s first-year $750 million investment, saying funding will rise to $765 million next year as part of what he called a more than 150% boost in Army support for emerging tech.
• The new xTechDisrupt competition, powered by Y Combinator, launches at AUSA with $500,000 pitch awards followed by 30-day sprints to field initial products.
• Driscoll said the Army will combine its fragmented acquisition offices under a single organization reporting to senior leadership to cut 12–18 month contracting timelines to months.
• He reinforced right-to-repair requirements and highlighted 3D printing to curb costs and delays, citing a $3,000 printed Black Hawk fuel-tank fin versus a $14,000 manufacturer replacement and a $60 knob versus a $47,000 assembly.
• In a forceful speech, he criticized longstanding reliance on primes and obsolete systems, used an expletive to stress urgency, and pointed to recent program cancellations and Ukraine’s rapid software updates as cautionary examples.