During the drafting of the 2019-25 Military Programming Act, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces placed a strong emphasis on innovation, led by then-Minister Florence Parly. This focus resulted in the establishment of the Defense Innovation Agency (AID) in September 2018. The agency was created to guide and coordinate innovation efforts, particularly by tapping into new technologies developed by civilian sources such as companies, universities, and research labs. In 2019, a Senate report acknowledged the Ministry's efforts but warned against what it called an "fashion effect," suggesting that innovation initiatives could become trendy rather than strategic. The Senate recommended giving the AID more autonomy to implement reforms, including adapting to new technologies, improving procurement processes, and managing credit systems used in defense projects. However, the Court of Audit, an independent body responsible for overseeing public spending, has raised concerns about whether these goals have been met. It noted that the AID's position within the ministry, shaped by internal compromises, has limited its ability to coordinate innovation effectively. Instead of acting as a central hub, the agency's role has been more like "animating communities" or encouraging local efforts without central oversight. The Court also pointed out that the Ministry of the Armed Forces has seen a rise in decentralized innovation projects, further weakening the AID's influence. Some initiatives, such as the Future Combat Command of the Army (CFAT), operate independently of the AID. Additionally, the creation of the Ministry of Defense Intelligence Agency (AMIAD) has shifted responsibility for digital innovation to the Defense Digital Commission, further fragmenting the innovation landscape. The Court of Audit stressed the importance of ensuring coherence across all innovation initiatives to use public funds efficiently and provide clear direction to industry partners. It found that the AID lacks a centralized, unified database of the projects it supports. Instead, it uses several separate systems, such as GRID, SI PME, BloomFlow, FAST, and HAPPI, none of which are connected. This lack of integration prevents the agency from having a full picture of its activities or developing meaningful performance metrics. In December 2021, the AID launched the ORCHIDEE project to create a unified information system. However, the project, managed by the company CAPGEMINI, failed to meet user needs, with only 27% of the required functions implemented. Technical challenges in connecting the new system with existing AID tools hindered progress, and the project was eventually abandoned in June 2024 after costing 1.1 million euros. Following this failure, the AID initiated its own internal system development, estimated at 105,000 euros, which is now in the testing phase as of 2025. The system is expected to be integrated with other platforms starting in 2026. However, as of the end of 2025, the AID still did not have a comprehensive information system to track its projects, a critical need for managing and measuring its performance.