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DIU Officials Outline Replicator Selection, Funding And Future Work

Friday, February 16th, 2024

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DIU Officials Outline Replicator Selection, Funding And Future Work

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks at NDIA's Emerging Technologies for Defense conference on Aug. 28, 2023, where she announced DoD's new Replicator initiative. Photo: NDIA/EPNAC

SAN DIEGO – While Defense Department leadership chose the first tranche of vehicles for what the Defense Innovation Unit is calling Replicator 1, officials also outlined next steps and why they are being so secretive about the specific platforms. Last August, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks gave DIU 18 to 24 months to find mature attritable autonomous systems to counter China’s military build-up, to be built in the thousands (Defense Daily, Aug. 28, 2023). Hicks oversees the project with Vice…

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