Acquisition
U.S. Army, Air Force and International Paratroopers conduct a foreign wing static line jump from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter onto Glen Rock Drop Zone during Leapfest in West Kingston, Rhode Island, Aug. 5, 2025. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Kelsey Kollar)
The Greatest Threat to Acquisition Transformation Is Fear
Bonnie Evangelista, War on the Rocks
The Department of Defense’s acquisition culture is paralyzed by an institutionalized "architecture of fear" that prioritizes procedural compliance and documentation over mission-critical speed. To achieve true transformation, leadership must move beyond rhetorical reform and fundamentally rewire the system's incentives to reward delivery outcomes and protect innovative risk-taking.
- Incentive Asymmetry: The current structure punishes visible failure with career-ending consequences while imposing almost no penalty for "invisible delay," making stagnation the most rational choice for personnel.
- Unsustainable Heroics: While pockets of innovation have succeeded, these breakthroughs often collapse back into the status quo once the specific individuals driving them rotate out.
EXCLUSIVE: Sentinel ICBM to clear key milestone this year, go operational ‘early 2030s’
Michael Marrow, Breaking Defense
After a Nunn-McCurdy breach in 2024, the Sentinel program is on track to regain its Milestone B certification by the latter half of 2026. This moves the timeline forward from a previous estimate of mid-2027, signaling high internal confidence in the current weapon design.
- Revised Operational Timeline: Although deployment has slipped from the original 2029 forecast, the modernized ICBM is now targeted for initial capability in the early 2030s.
- Mandated Fiscal Reset: Triggered by a massive 81% cost increase—bringing the total price to $141 billion—the program underwent a mandatory restructuring after a Nunn-McCurdy breach forced the rescission of its original design certification.
- Strategic Contracting Shift: The restructuring involves delegating specific infrastructure tasks, such as laying miles of telecommunications cabling, to the Army Corps of Engineers rather than the prime contractor.
- Infrastructural Pivot: The Air Force now plans to save time and money by building hundreds of new silos rather than retrofitting existing Minuteman III facilities.
Related: National Security Snapshot: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization Faces Critical Risks and Opportunities
Pentagon Seeks Industry Input on Phase 2 Regulatory Reforms
MeriTalk
The Department of War is soliciting industry feedback for Phase 2 of the "Revolutionary FAR Overhaul" aimed at streamlining federal and defense acquisition regulations.
- Immediate Streamlining: Phase 1 of the project has already seen the release of 31 class deviations, effective February 1, 2026, which allow the department to bypass traditional regulatory burdens unilaterally while formal rulemaking continues.
Letter: Letter to Defense Industrial Base and Acquisition Stakeholders
Class Deviations: DFARS Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Class Deviations
Innovation
A member of the Rhode Island Army National Guard reviews a Soldier’s enlisted record brief (ERB) during a centralized promotion board, Feb. 12, 2025, Camp Fogarty, Rhode Island. Conducted without in-person candidates, the board relies heavily on accurate and well-written NCOERs (noncommissioned officer evaluation report) to fairly evaluate and score each promotion file. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terry Rajsombath)
Meet VECTOR: An unofficial soldier-made AI tool the Army suspended pending a ‘compliance review’
Drew F. Lawrence, DefenseScoop
The U.S. Army recently suspended VECTOR, an unofficial, soldier-developed AI application designed to streamline talent management tasks like performance evaluations and promotion preparation.
- Unauthorized Innovation: VECTOR was built independently by a non-commissioned officer on the Army Vantage platform to help personnel navigate complex evaluation processes and "revolutionize" talent management.
- Compliance Lockdown: The Army suspended the application shortly after its release to conduct a "compliance review," highlighting the risks of deploying tools that have not been officially sanctioned or vetted for safety.
- Policy vs. Tempo: This situation reflects a broader tension in the Pentagon between an "acceleration strategy" meant to unleash experimentation and the absence of clear guardrails for evaluating autonomous tools.
- Broad Experimentation: The incident follows the launch of GenAI.mil, a hub for commercial AI platforms, which has faced mixed reviews due to a lack of clear governing guidelines for its use across the force.
Will These Four Defense Innovation Reforms Improve Industry’s Lot?
Madeline Field, War on the Rocks
This article examines four recent defense innovation reforms aimed at modernizing the Pentagon’s relationship with the private sector, ranging from AI adoption and intellectual property access to stricter contractor performance standards. While these initiatives signal a strong desire for technological acceleration and military dominance, the author warns that they are undermined by structural weaknesses, such as a lack of clear benchmarking standards and fragmented organizational ownership. The text argues that unless the government clarifies its evaluation metrics and reduces policy volatility, these reforms may inadvertently stifle capital formation and increase uncertainty for the firms necessary to strengthen the industrial base.
Defense & Strategy
Image via FPRI
The US Is Not Built For War Or Peace: America’s Industrial Resilience Gap
Jesse R. Humpal, PhD, & Lt. Col. Jahara “FRANKY” Matisek, Foreign Policy Research Institute
This analysis argues that the United States suffers from a dangerous industrial resilience gap, where a system optimized for efficiency lacks the regenerative capacity to scale during a crisis. The authors contend that current policy mistakes mere endurance for true readiness, relying on emergency funding that cannot instantly conjure the skilled labor and specialized supply chains lost to decades of offshoring.
- Regeneration vs. Endurance: True strategic resilience is defined by the speed of capability regeneration at scale; a system that merely "endures" or limps through a shock is optimized for continuity, not crisis.
- Strategic Infrastructure Shift: To maintain deterrence, the U.S. must treat industrial capacity as strategic infrastructure, prioritizing bottlenecks and surge capacity over simple market-driven efficiency.
- Time as Constraint: While funding is often plentiful during a crisis, time is the binding constraint, as it takes years to rebuild the specialized ecosystems and workforce pipelines necessary for wartime speed.
US critical minerals policy goes collaborative with FORGE
Reed Blakemore and Alexis Harmon, Atlantic Council
The Trump administration’s launch of the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) signals a major strategic shift toward a plurilateral architecture aimed at securing critical mineral supply chains through international cooperation. By aligning trade policies and price signals with global partners, the initiative seeks to create a durable market framework that protects domestic and allied mining projects from adversarial manipulation.
- Heavy Financial Firepower: To back these ambitions, the administration has mobilized over $30 billion in loans and support, highlighted by the Project Vault initiative, which recently secured $10 billion in financing from the Export-Import Bank.
- Rules-Based Incentives: FORGE utilizes a "membership by trade" model where participation is conditioned on adhering to shared trade rules, aiming to reinforce and de-risk private investments across multiple supply chains without the complexity of pooled financing.
- High-Speed Diplomacy: The administration has maintained an "impressive dealmaking velocity," securing 11 new bilateral agreements during a single ministerial—reaching 21 total deals in just five months—with dozens more negotiations currently underway.
Related: US turns multilateral in search of critical mineral security
Industry
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle speaks at WEST 2026. Credit: Karras Photography
What the Navy’s New Hedge Strategy Means for Industry
Nuray Taylor, Signal
The U.S. Navy Fighting Instructions, recently unveiled by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, establish a new “Hedge Strategy” designed to ensure maritime dominance through rapid innovation and readiness for unpredictable future conflicts. The framework is meant to serve as a clear demand signal for industry about the capabilities the Navy plans to build, scale, and sustain.
- Five Pillars: The strategy is built on five key pillars: posturing the fleet for global response, investing in cost-effective innovation, partnering with allies/industry, aligning with Force Design 2045, and adopting the Enhanced Mission Command Framework
- Tailored Mass: To complement the main battle force, the Navy is prioritizing “tailored offsets,” including attritable and easily replenishable unmanned surface and undersea vessels, mine warfare, and cost-effective counter-drone defenses.
- Acquisition Reform: Leadership has explicitly declared “war” on traditional acquisition processes to eliminate delays, urging both traditional and nontraditional vendors to iterate aggressively and scale technology much faster than in the past.
- Industry Call-to-Action: The Fighting Instructions encourage industry to invest in research and development for new capabilities, promising that those who embrace the speed of innovation will be rewarded with longer-term contracts.
Full Document: U.S. Navy Fighting Instructions
Government Reports
An undated photo of an LGM-35A Sentinel test booster, including stages-one, -two and -three solid rocket motors and both interstage mechanisms. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)
National Security Snapshot: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization Faces Critical Risks and Opportunities
Government Accountability Office
Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Congressional Research Service
Defense Primer: Procurement
Congressional Research Service
Executive Order on Defense Contracting
Congressional Research Service
Research
Navy Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Joshua Shaikoski, center, and Navy Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Jesse Sanchez, left, conduct a maintenance check on board the USS John C. Stennis in the Arabian Gulf, Dec. 29, 2018. (Navy photo by Seaman Skyler Moore)
Addressing PACFLT's Surface Ship Maintenance Challenges: Leveraging Japanese and South Korean Ship Repair Capabilities to Overcome Domestic Capacity Constraints
Daniel Flanagan, Naval Postgraduate School
The U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) faces a severe maintenance capacity crisis that threatens its operational readiness in the Indo-Pacific region. This research examines how insufficient domestic ship repair capacity directly contributes to persistent maintenance delays, creating a cascade of operational challenges. The author proposes leveraging Japanese and South Korean maritime industrial capabilities to supplement domestic maintenance capacity, concluding that that a strategic partnership with these allies offers a possible solution to enhance PACFLT readiness in the near term while supporting the long-term health of the industrial base.
The Impact of the CHIPS Act on Intel’s Manufacturing Capacity and National Security Implications for the Department of Defense
Christina Day, Allison McCowan & Michelle Ruane, Naval Postgraduate School
This research examines how the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act addresses vulnerabilities by promoting domestic production, focusing on Intel’s strategic response. It analyzes Intel’s integrated device manufacturing (IDM) 2.0 strategy, its efforts to expand U.S.-based fabrication, and challenges in achieving high-volume, leading-edge manufacturing for external customers. Findings show that Intel’s expansion—supported by federal incentives—improves resilience, but U.S. capacity remains insufficient to meet domestic demand. This thesis informs U.S. SC policy by mapping vulnerabilities and offering policy paths to reinforce defense-related technology supply chains.
Mapping the MilTech War: Eight Lessons from Ukraine’s Battlefield
Élie Tenenbaum, Bohdan Kostiuk, et al., French Institute of International Relations
This report by the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) analyzes how modern warfare has evolved through the technological and tactical innovations observed during the conflict in Ukraine. The text outlines eight strategic lessons for NATO, focusing on the shift from expensive, centralized military platforms to decentralized, low-cost autonomous systems like drones and integrated software.
Events
2026 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference
NDIA & US Indo-Pacific Command
9-12 March 2026
Honolulu, HI
Generative And Agentic Artificial Intelligence Workshop
US Marine Corps
9-12 March 2026
Quantico, VA
2026 Defense Software & Data Summit
Govini
10 March 2026
Washington, D.C.
Tectonic Defense Summit
11-12 March 2026
Austin, TX
Naval IT Day 2026
AFCEA NOVA
12 March 2026
Chantilly, VA
2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit
Potomac Officers Club
19 March 2026
Reston, VA
One more thing...
Jane Ginsburg, the sponsor of the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg (T-AO 112) sponsor, welds her initials onto the keel plate of the ship during the keel certification on February 13, 2026, at the NASSCO shipyard San Diego. (US Navy photo by Sarah Cannon)
Keel Laid for Future USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg
US Navy
The U.S. Navy officially begun the physical construction of the future USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg (T-AO 212) with a traditional keel laying ceremony in San Diego. This John Lewis-class replenishment oiler will serve as a vital logistics asset, providing the fuel and supplies necessary to sustain the Navy’s warships during extended global missions.
- Honored Namesake: The ship is named after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recognizing her 27 years of service and her legacy as a dedicated advocate for justice.
- Centuries-Old Tradition: Ship sponsor Jane Ginsburg, daughter of the namesake, authenticated the keel by welding her initials onto a steel plate that will remain permanently affixed to the hull for the ship’s entire service life.
|
