Col. Elliott Leigh has assumed leadership of AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force. A change of leadership ceremony was held at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
He succeeds Col. Nathan Diller, who is retiring after 22 years of service with the U.S. Air Force, and will lead AFWERX as it prepares to embark on a new approach to spur innovation across the service branch, the Air Force Research Laboratory said Monday.
Leigh joined the AFRL directorate in September as its military deputy. During his two-decade career in the Air Force, Leigh held various test and evaluation and program management positions, including chief of the B-21 Raider developmental test program.
AFWERX is releasing transitioning to an upgraded innovation approach that represents its updated priorities aimed at expanding technology, workforce and capabilities.
The AFWERX 3.0 evolution focuses on five specific lines of effort and aims to address the Secretary of the Air Force’s Operational Imperatives.
