Douglas Matty, the Department of War’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, is leaving his current role to focus on the Trump administration’s Golden Dome for America next-generation missile defense shield project, DefenseScoop reported Wednesday.
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Andrew Mapes, acting principal deputy CDAO, will serve as acting chief of the Pentagon’s AI office until DOW finds a permanent replacement to Matty.
In April, Matty took on the CDAO role to oversee efforts to accelerate DOW’s adoption of AI, analytics and data to enable decision advantage on the battlefield.
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Who Is Douglas Matty?
Matty is a national security leader with expertise spanning AI, operational command and data integration.
Before joining the Pentagon, he was director of research for AI and autonomy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
He previously served as an executive engineer at RAND and was the director of Army AI capabilities within the Department of the Army.
He is the founder of the U.S. Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center, which is responsible for developing, synchronizing and coordinating AI capabilities for the military branch and providing critical support for DOW’s Joint AI Center.
For 30 years, Matty served as an active-duty officer in the Air Defense Artillery and Operations Research and Systems Analysis Functional Area.
The West Point computer engineering graduate has a doctorate degree in engineering systems from MIT.
What Is Golden Dome?
Golden Dome is envisioned as a multilayered defense system to intercept cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile threats, integrating space-based sensors and interceptors.
According to a U.S. government slide presentation in August, Golden Dome will include four layers: one satellite-based platform and three land-based missile systems. One layer will provide space-based sensing and targeting for missile warning, tracking and defense. The three ground-based layers will consist of radar arrays, missile interceptors and lasers.
In July, the Senate confirmed Gen. Michael Guetlein, most recently vice chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, as direct reporting program manager for the Golden Dome project.
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to build the Golden Dome for America, which is expected to cost $175 billion and be completed by 2028.
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