DOD officially launches new Economic Defense Unit to mesh military aims with global financial sway
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The Department of Defense officially launched a new Economic Defense Unit to integrate military and financial goals.
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Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg officially launched the Economic Defense Unit (EDU) within the Pentagon to integrate economic leverage into U.S. military planning and operations. The EDU, which has been operating for over a month, will report to Feinberg and is designed to employ private-sector financial expertise to counter adversaries' economic influence. The Pentagon's budget request for fiscal year 2027 included $593 million in research, development, test and evaluation funding for the new unit. This initiative aligns with the second Trump administration’s whole-of-government priorities to accelerate federal business and modernize the Pentagon's purchasing processes. The EDU is directed to develop requirements for economic competition activities, including access, basing, and countering adversary industrial base efforts, and will conduct tabletop exercises to assess economic impacts during crises.
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The DOD officially launched a new Economic Defense Unit.
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