Assessing the Pentagon's Mission to Rebuild the 'Arsenal of Freedom'

""Increase acquisition risk to decrease operational risk": field good-enough capabilities faster, iterate in production, and stop chasing perfect specs that arrive too late. JCIDS → RRAB / MEIA / JAR: cancel the slow, document-heavy requirements process; stand up a Requirements & Resourcing Alignment Board (RRAB) to tie priorities to funds, a Mission Engineering & Integration Activity (MEIA) to co-design/experiment with industry early, and a Joint Acceleration Reserve (JAR) to bridge the "valley of death.""

"War-fighting Acquisition System & PAEs: rebrand and reorganize acquisition around Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs) who have end-to-end authority to trade cost/schedule/performance for time-to-field, with embedded contracting and fixed delivery cycles. Modular Open Systems + multi-source: mandate modular architectures, maintain at least two qualified sources on critical components, and enable third-party integration to avoid vendor lock and accelerate upgrades. Commercial-first, 85% solution: accept non-perfect bids that meet the mission faster, then iterate software and components continuously."

"Wartime Production Unit (WPU): a deal-team model to negotiate across a contractor's total DoD portfolio, create incentives for on-time delivery, and unlock surge capacity. Workforce & culture shift: convert the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) into a "Warfighting Acquisition University," lengthen leader tenures, and evaluate contracting/program teams on mission outcomes rather than compliance metrics. Foreign Military Sales realignment: move DSCA/DTSA under Acquisition & Sustainment to unify planning, contracting, and delivery so allies get kit faster without undercutting U.S. readiness."

Increase acquisition risk to decrease operational risk by fielding good-enough capabilities quickly and iterating in production rather than chasing perfect specifications. Eliminate slow, document-heavy requirements and create an RRAB to tie priorities to funds, a MEIA to co-design with industry early, and a JAR to bridge development gaps. Reorganize acquisition around Portfolio Acquisition Executives with end-to-end trade authority, embedded contracting, and fixed delivery cycles. Mandate modular open systems and at least two qualified sources for critical components. Emphasize commercial-first 85% solutions, establish Wartime Production Units to unlock surge, and realign FMS and workforce incentives for mission outcomes.

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