Acquisition
A US Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean on September 23, 2025. (US Navy)
Adapting to Win: Using the Navy Rapid Capabilities Office to Pioneer a New Approach to Military Acquisition
Bryan Clark & Dan Patt, Hudson Institute
This report from the Hudson Institute argues that the U.S. military must pivot from a focus on technical performance to a strategy of continuous adaptation to maintain its edge against modern adversaries. The authors propose that the Department of the Navy establish a Navy Rapid Capabilities Office (NRCO) to bypass slow, traditional acquisition cycles in favor of time-based acquisition that prioritizes near-term operational needs. By integrating robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) into specialized "tailored forces," the military can more effectively counter gray-zone tactics and rapid technological shifts seen in global conflict zones.
- Flipping the Triangle: The traditional "Iron Triangle" of acquisition—where performance is fixed and schedule is variable—should be replaced by a model where schedules and capacity are prioritized. In this new framework, system performance becomes the variable that can be adjusted to meet urgent operational timelines and budget constraints.
Critics see ‘chilling effect’ of DOD crackdown on 8(a) small-biz deals
Stephen Losey, Defense News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a major crackdown on the SBA’s 8(a) small-business program, characterizing it as a fraudulent "DEI" initiative that detracts from military lethality. While the administration seeks to eliminate perceived wasteful spending, experts and small-business advocates warn that the rhetoric ignores the program’s role in maintaining a competitive and agile defense industrial base.
- Exaggerated Fraud Claims: Industry analysts point out that allegations of a "$100 billion fraud scheme" are mathematically impossible, as the entire 8(a) program awards only about $25 billion annually across the entire federal government. Of that total, the Department of Defense accounts for approximately $15.5 billion.
- Critical Response: Program advocates emphasize that 8(a) contracts allow the military to hire vetted firms and begin emergency work, such as disaster remediation, within 48 hours. Losing this flexible procurement tool could significantly hamper the military’s ability to respond to emerging national security threats and atrophied industrial capacity.
Related: SBA suspends 1,000 8(a) firms for not submitting data
GSA wants answers from resellers about markups and equipment maker relationships
Nick Wakeman, Nextgov
The General Services Administration is currently investigating the pricing transparency and profit margins of third-party vendors who sell technology hardware to the federal government. Officials are seeking to understand the wide variance in markups applied by resellers and whether their specialized services justify these additional costs.
- Reseller Dependency: Although the GSA’s "OneGov" initiative encourages direct relationships with manufacturers, the government remains dependent on resellers because most OEMs do not have their own GSA schedule.
RFI: GSA Seeks Industry Ideas to Enhance Reseller Market Oversight and Value
Defense & Strategy
US Army soldiers with 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment load a Stryker armored vehicle onto a truck at Rose Barracks Air Field, before a deployment to Romania in Vilseck, Germany on February 9, 2022. (Gertrud Zach, US Army Handout via Reuters)
The right to repair is a modern combat readiness imperative. Congress should enshrine it in law.
Dan Minnocci, Atlantic Council
Federal legislation must ensure that military maintainers can troubleshoot and fix advanced equipment without being blocked by corporate intellectual property restrictions. Enshrining these rights in law would shift the military away from a dependency on proprietary manufacturer support that often fails during active conflict.
- Legislation Over Policy: While some departmental policies exist—including directives from Secretary Pete Hegseth—federal law is required to create a permanent, enforceable framework that applies across all military branches.
- Data as Oxygen: Access to technical data is vital for sustaining software-defined capabilities; without it, the U.S. military is effectively treated as a foreign nation restricted by technology transfer risks rather than a unified defense ecosystem.
CNO outlines vision for unmanned systems in Navy’s new ‘hedge strategy’
Jon Harper, DefenseScoop
Navy CNO Daryl Caudle has announced a new "hedge strategy" designed to balance the fleet by integrating autonomous, expendable systems alongside traditional battle forces to handle unpredictable global conflicts. This framework seeks to move away from a "brittle" force by using low-cost, tailored capabilities to address specific high-risk scenarios without over-investing in any single solution.
Industry
Image: Airman 1st Class Eugene Oliver via DVIDS.
The Organic Industrial Base and the Risks of Competing Against Ourselves
Kevin Consedine, War on the Rocks
The organic industrial base, the government-owned network of depots and arsenals, is being dangerously hollowed out by misaligned institutional incentives and private-sector competition.
- Circular Economy: Depots form the backbone of a circular economy where the military creates value by extending the life of expensive platforms—like helicopters—through overhaul and remanufacturing rather than constant, costly replacement
- Structural Incentive Trap: Although depots offer long-term savings, program managers often favor private firms because their financial models provide the near-term speed and flexibility required by short-term budget windows and readiness metrics.
- Intellectual Property Barriers: Restrictive data rights and "vendor lock" prevent military depots from repairing critical systems, such as the Rolls-Royce AE 1107 engine or composite rotor blades, even when the government has the physical capacity to do so.
- Shared Material Scarcity: Public and private sectors increasingly compete for the same scarce materials like titanium and nickel, creating bottlenecks where industrial friction translates directly into operational readiness risks.
How defense contractors invest their money, in 4 charts
Rachel Cohen, Breaking Defense
Data from major defense contractors reveals that shareholder returns significantly outpaced internal investments in 2024, as Donald Trump charged in a recent executive order.
- High Shareholder Returns: In 2024, seven top defense firms returned 98 percent of their free cash flow—totaling $21.2 billion—to investors through dividends and stock buybacks. This amount was 28 percent higher than the combined spending on internal research and development (IRAD) and capital improvements (CapEx).
- RTX in Crosshairs: RTX led the industry in 2024 dividends at $3.2 billion, drawing criticism from the president. Despite this pressure, RTX has informed investors it remains committed to maintaining its dividend payments.
- Lockheed’s Buyback Lead: Lockheed Martin topped the list for stock buybacks in 2024, spending $3.7 billion to boost share value.
- Reinvesting in Innovation: While most primes spent more on shareholders, firms like Boeing, RTX, General Dynamics, and BAE Systems saw growth in internal research and capital expenditures.
Government Reports
Photo by Robynne O on Unsplash
DOD Systems Modernization: Further Action Needed to Improve Travel and Other Business Systems
Government Accountability Office
Navy Virginia-Class Submarine Program and AUKUS Submarine (Pillar 1) Project: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service
Golden Dome: Related CRS Products
Congressional Research Service
Resources
Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs Director, Farooq Mitha, visited the LIFT Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Detroit in March 2022. Photo: Devon Bistarkey, DOD
Who Buys in Government? Leveling the Playing Field for Defense Startups
Silicon Valley Defense Group
The Stanford Gordian Knot Center has released the 2026 Department of War (DoW) Directory, designed to bridge the gap between the national security community and the innovation ecosystem by providing transparency into the complex defense acquisition system. This comprehensive resource identifies key buyers, funding pathways, and organizational structures across all military services.
Full Directory: The DoW Directory 2026 Edition: Capability Program Executives (CPEs) and Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs)
Research
Photo: Keystone View Company/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Minerals at War: Strategic Resources and the Foundations of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base
Gracelin Baskaran & Samantha Dady, CSIS
The sources trace the history of U.S. critical mineral policy, arguing that national security depends on permanent industrial stewardship rather than episodic crisis response. The reports emphasize that the current erosion of U.S. processing capacity and strategic resilience is the result of a recurring cycle of post-war retrenchment and over-reliance on market self-correction.
Building Mission-Focused Business Leaders: Reforming Enlisted Contracting Development
Rachel Tuck & Jacob Horton, Naval Postgraduate School
This thesis argues that current Air Force procurement training for enlisted members relies too heavily on rote memorization of regulations, which fails to equip personnel with the practical skills required for high-stakes environments. The study proposes a shift toward a competency-based framework that aligns military instruction with recognized industry standards and commercial certifications. By analyzing workforce data and expert insights, the research provides a strategic roadmap to transform the workforce from mere compliance officers into mission-focused business leaders.
A Comparative Analysis of Choices and Trade-Offs in U.S. Department of Defense and People’s Liberation Army Military Research, Development, and Acquisition Programs
Joel B. Predd, RAND
By comparing the decision-making processes of the Department of Defense and the People’s Liberation Army, the authors of this RAND report investigate how strategic priorities and resource allocation directly impact the speed at which new technologies reach the field. The researchers suggest that the current disparity in progress stems from the specific programmatic trade-offs each nation makes regarding cost, performance, and delivery timelines. By understanding these programmatic choices, U.S. policymakers can better navigate a decision space that has been complicated by China's ability to field new capabilities more rapidly.
Events
WEST 2026: Sustaining Maritime Dominance
AFCEA & USNI
10-12 February 2026
San Diego, CA
36th Annual NDIA Special Operations Symposium
NDIA
17-18 February 2026
Washington, DC
40th Annual National Logistics Forum
NDIA
17-19 February 2026
Tampa, FL
Creative Disruptors in the Desert
Creative Defense Foundation
20-21 February 2025
La Quinta, CA
Generative And Agentic Artificial Intelligence Workshop
US Marine Corps
9-12 March 2026
Quantico, VA
2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit
Potomac Officers Club
19 March 2026
Reston, VA
Accelerating Warfighting Capabilities
NPS 23rd Annual Acquisition Research Symposium & Innovation Summit
6-7 May 2026
Virtual Event
One more thing...
Dr. Gladys West during her induction into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame, 2018. (Adrian Cadiz/Air Force)
‘Hidden Figure’ Gladys West, GPS pioneer and Navy civilian, dies at 95
Claire Barrett, Navy Times
Dr. Gladys West was a pioneering Navy mathematician whose decades of work modeling the Earth's shape provided the essential algorithms and data that underpin modern Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. As a "hidden figure" of the Jim Crow era, her intellectual contributions transitioned the military from paper maps to high-precision satellite navigation, impacting everything from missile accuracy to everyday smartphone use.
- Breaking Barriers: In 1956, she joined the Naval Proving Ground as only the second Black woman ever hired at the facility, eventually becoming a project manager for complex data-processing systems.
- Precision Modeling: During the 1980s, West programmed the IBM 7030 "Stretch" computer to deliver highly precise calculations of the Earth’s "geoid"—an irregular ellipsoid model—which serves as the mathematical foundation for GPS mapping.
- Efficiency Gains: While managing the Seasat radar altimetry project, she introduced processing innovations that slashed her team’s data analysis time in half, earning her a high-level commendation in 1979.
- Belated Recognition: Her monumental impact remained largely unknown to the public until 2017, when an alumni biography revealed her role in developing technology that now influences global sectors including NASA, the auto industry, and telecommunications.
- Unstoppable Determination: Even after retiring following 42 years of service and suffering a debilitating stroke, West continued her academic journey, earning her PhD at the age of 70.
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