The Warfighting Acquisition System
Speed to delivery is the organizing principle.
On 10 November 2025, the Secretary of War announced a sweeping Acquisition Transformation Strategy that redefines how the Department of War develops requirements, manages programs, and engages with industry. Below is our analysis — and what contractors must do to compete.
What Was Announced
The Secretary of War has directed the transformation of the Defense Acquisition System into what is now called the Warfighting Acquisition System. The strategy strengthens deterrence, rebuilds the industrial base, and accelerates the delivery of capabilities to the warfighter at the “speed of relevance.”
The announcement is built around three foundational memorandums and a new Acquisition Transformation Strategy that collectively redefine requirements generation, program management, and industry engagement.
Transforming the Defense Acquisition System
Into the “Warfighting Acquisition System” to accelerate fielding of urgently needed capabilities to our warriors.
Reforming the Joint Requirements Process
To accelerate fielding of warfighting capabilities — including dismantling legacy JCIDS validation steps.
Unifying Arms Transfer & Security Cooperation
To improve efficiency, enable burden-sharing, and align international cooperation under a single enterprise.
What Is Changing
Speed-to-Delivery as the Organizing Principle
Timeline performance is now a primary evaluation criterion. Time-indexed incentives reward early delivery and penalize delay. Contract architecture will increasingly tie compensation to delivery velocity, not just cost and scope.
Commercial-First Philosophy
Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), and iterative/software-pathway acquisitions are preferred over rigid traditional FAR-based procurements — opening the door wider for dual-use and non-traditional entrants.
Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE)
Authority is consolidating. Single PAEs will oversee multiple interrelated programs with the authority to reallocate funds based on performance and urgency. Compensation will be tied to mission outcomes — not program preservation.
JCIDS Dismantlement
The legacy Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System is being dismantled. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is directed to stop validating service-level requirements to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Industrial Base Rebuilding
Executive action limits stock buybacks, dividends, and executive compensation for underperforming defense contractors — redirecting capital toward production throughput, capacity expansion, and delivery velocity.
Iterative Development
Minimum viable products (MVPs) and small incremental improvements replace years-long “big bang” deliveries. The Software Acquisition Pathway authorities are expanding to all classes of capability.
Why This Matters — and
What Contractors Must Do Now
The Warfighting Acquisition System is not a pilot. It is a re-rating of the entire Defense Industrial Base on a single factor — can you deliver at speed, with quality, against a rising compliance bar. Contractors who wait to see if it sticks will be outpaced by those who are already restructuring their production, quality, and cybersecurity posture to compete under the new model.
The reform is designed to reward delivery and punish drag. Under the new portfolio model, a Portfolio Acquisition Executive can reallocate funding away from lagging programs to accelerate those that are executing. Every CAR, every FAT slip, every DCMA withhold is now not just a tactical problem — it is a competitive vulnerability that puts your program’s funding at risk.
Time-indexed incentives mean the contractor that clears FAT first, transitions to FRP on schedule, and maintains “Blue” CPAR ratings will capture not just this award — but the follow-on work, the option years, and the reprogrammed dollars pulled from less effective performers.
Commercial-first authorities will draw new entrants into the market. Traditional contractors who cannot compete on delivery velocity will find themselves alongside defense tech startups that are structurally optimized for iterative, OTA-based development. The competitive set is expanding — and the cost of execution failure is compounding.
At the same time, the compliance bar is rising. CMMC 2.0 enforcement, DFARS 252.204-7012 flowdown to the supplier base, and CUI handling discipline are no longer back-office functions. They are gate criteria for contract award and retention. A contractor that is fast but non-compliant will not survive the new system.
Aligning Your Program to the New Model
WES, LLC is purpose-built to help contractors restructure for the Warfighting Acquisition System. Our Lifecycle Engagement Model directly addresses the reform’s pressure points:
Proposal Re-Alignment for Speed-to-Delivery Incentives
Rework win themes, BOEs, and IMS commitments to position your proposal competitively under time-indexed incentive structures. Our Phase I SSEB-perspective review is now more consequential than ever.
Production & Quality Baseline Hardening
Build a “Green” baseline DCMA will trust. Mature your QMS, FMEA, and readiness review discipline so you hit FAT first-time-right — the single highest leverage event under the new model.
CMMC 2.0 & CUI Rapid Readiness
Drawing on experience as the former DEVCOM Lead PQM for Cyber Security of the DIB, we move contractors from gap to C3PAO-ready on an accelerated timeline that aligns to rising enforcement.
DCMA Engagement Strategy
Under time-pressured contract execution, the contractor-DCMA relationship is the margin. We coach leadership and working-level staff on “speaking DCMA” — reducing withholds, accelerating shipment authorization, and clearing CARs faster.
LRIP to FRP Transition Velocity
The transition from Low Rate Initial Production to Full Rate Production is where most programs slip. We plan the rate increase, harden the line, and de-risk the scale-up so you hit PAE-tracked delivery commitments.
Red Program Recovery
If you’re already under Cure Notice or Show-Cause, Phase VI intervention brings rapid root cause, Government engagement strategy, and a defensible Corrective Action Plan to protect your past performance record.
Is your program ready for the
Warfighting Acquisition System?
Schedule a 30-minute pre-consultation to assess your program’s exposure and identify the most impactful alignment actions for the next 90 days.