Acquisition
Airmen watch a test of an unmanned ground vehicle at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Nov. 10, 2020. (Air Force Airman 1 st Class Tiffany Price)
Can the Pentagon Embrace Commercial Acquisition?
William C. Greenwalt, American Enterprise Institute
While recent executive orders and legislative acts have attempted to mandate a preference for commercial buying, these efforts are often undermined by vague legal definitions and a rigid bureaucracy that fails to align with commercial market incentives. Instead, the Pentagon should pivot away from auditing individual contracts and instead utilize its existing authority to treat non-traditional contractors as commercial entities.
- Legal Mandates Ignored: Despite 30 years of legislation requiring a preference for commercial procurement, the government has failed to enforce these mandates due to conflicting interpretations of what defines a "commercial" product or service.
- Structural Barrier Reform: A more effective solution would be to utilize existing authority to treat non-traditional contractors as commercial entities by default, rather than conducting exhaustive, case-by-case commerciality determinations.
- Incentive Mismatch: Federal procurement officers frequently fail to accommodate the private sector's incentive structures, which remains a primary hurdle in adopting commercial best practices for military needs.
Department of War OTAs through the Eyes of the Contractor
Janel C. Wallace, Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting
Based on a late 2025 survey of direct OT (Other Transaction Agreement awardees, this paper identifies key hindrances in the War Department’s OTA processes and offers recommendations for the Department’s policymakers,
program offices, and Agreements Officers to attract more emergent and advanced technology firms to the Defense industrial base, increase the use of OTAs, and accelerate the adoption and delivery of emergent and advanced technology capabilities to warfighters.
Defense & Strategy
U.S. Marines compete in wargaming during Modern Day Marine 2026 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew A. McDonnell)
The future of war arrived. We aren’t ready.
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Lorin Selby, DefenseScoop
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Lorin Selby contends that current institutional planning is dangerously out of sync with a battlefield reality that now favors speed and software over legacy manned platforms. The U.S. must urgently rewrite doctrine, reallocate funding, and empower new leadership to remain relevant on the modern battlefield.
- Obsolete Blueprints: Every current operational plan is built on outdated assumptions regarding kill chains and battlefield physics that no longer reflect reality.
- First Principles: True transformation requires rewriting campaign designs from the ground up, making AI-enabled ISR and human-machine teaming the primary design constraints.
- Doctrinal Modernization: Current military doctrine is failing to provide adequate strategies for the dispersal and survivability infrastructure required on a drone-saturated battlefield.
- Empowered Visionaries: To succeed, the military must grant real authority to the "hedge strategists" and innovators who accurately predicted this shift rather than keeping them in advisory roles.
Cheap Missiles, Not Drones, Will Win the Next Air War
Vitaliy Goncharuk, War on the Rocks
The strategic advantage of propeller-driven drones is rapidly diminishing as adversaries deploy faster, higher-flying turbojet systems that render current low-speed interceptors obsolete. To maintain air superiority, the West must pivot from its focus on traditional drone platforms toward mass-producible, low-cost autonomous missiles and directed-energy weapons.
- Turbojet Disruption: By equipping Shahed drones with turbojet engines, Russia has increased their speed fivefold and quadrupled their operational altitude, making them nearly impossible for propeller drones to intercept.
- Demoting the Drone: Future doctrine should treat drones as "trucks" or "motherships" for logistics and delivery, while specialized, cheap missiles handle the final kinetic engagement.
- Bureaucratic Blindness: Procurement is currently stalled by institutional momentum and "political fashion," where leaders prefer visible, tangible quadcopters over complex missile propulsion programs.
- Regulatory Obstacles: Startups face immense hurdles pivoting to missiles due to strict ITAR regulations, complex regulations, and a scarcity of specialized propulsion engineers compared to the software sector.
From Slogan to Standard: How the Pentagon Should Define Affordable Mass
Mike Benitez, War on the Rocks
The Pentagon must redefine "affordable mass" as a sustainable rate of replacement rather than a simple metric for low-cost procurement.
- The Rate Standard: Affordable mass is fundamentally a "rate problem" rather than a budget problem, achieved only when a force can replace its combat losses as fast as it takes them.
- Attrition Fundamentals: True sustainment requires managing three interconnected dynamics: the tactical willingness to expend a system at risk, the near-term replenishment from available inventory, and the long-term reconstitution via industrial production.
- Producibility over Performance: Acquisitions should prioritize Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs) and "design for assembly," ensuring systems are optimized for repeatability and high-volume throughput rather than peak technical elegance.
- Sustaining Industrial Muscle: To prevent production capacity from decaying during peacetime, the Pentagon must engineer steady consumption through continuous training depletion, planned modernization cycles, and the integration of dual-use commercial demand.
Houston, We Have a (Weapon System Readiness) Problem
Moshe Schwartz, Anthony Di Stasio, and Arzoo Dawoodan, Baroni Center for Government Contracting
This white paper examines the persistent decline in weapon system operational readiness within the Department of War, identifying a complex web of systemic root causes rather than a single point of failure. The authors argue that while intellectual property disputes are often blamed, the true drivers are underfunded maintenance accounts, an overworked workforce, and dilapidated infrastructure that averages eighty years of age. To reverse these trends, the text proposes a multi-faceted strategy centered on early sustainment planning, the modernization of outdated IT and logistics systems, and deeper collaboration with the industrial base.
Industry
Via Business Executives for National Security
The Silent Succession Crisis: Mobilizing Private Capital to Preserve Critical Defense Suppliers
Business Executives for National Security
This report addresses a "silent" threat to national security: the potential disappearance of essential defense suppliers as their aging owners retire without clear succession plans. To prevent the loss of these specialized manufacturers, the authors advocate for mobilizing private capital by improving transparency and reducing the regulatory friction that often stalls domestic acquisitions.
Aligning the U.S. and Canadian Defense Industrial Bases
Christopher Zember and Jerry McGinn, War on the Rocks
To counter modern global threats and reduce reliance on adversaries, the United States and Canada must transition from separate industrial paths toward a more deliberate alignment of their defense sectors. While the two nations already share a history of cooperation, the authors argue that the current geopolitical climate necessitates embedding co-production into major programs from their inception rather than as an afterthought. By synchronizing demand signals and removing bureaucratic hurdles like export control friction, both countries can leverage their unique strengths—such as Canadian raw materials and American financial mechanisms—to build a more resilient and scalable supply chain.
Mobilizing Private Capital for Defense: Tactics and Recommendations
Sam Moyer, Emerging Technologies Institute
This report examines how the Department of Defense can better attract private capital to bolster national security and accelerate technological innovation. It identifies a strategic framework built on clear demand signals, catalytic funding, and a stable business environment to bridge the gap between military needs and investor interests.
Government Reports
Air Force Staff Sgt. Quinn Ball secures an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile for an F-35A Lightning II during a weapons load competition at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo: Air Force Airman 1st Class Katelynn Jackson)
Air Force Readiness: Actions Needed to Address Depot Maintenance Delays and Staffing Challenges
Government Accountability Office
Weapon System Sustainment: DOD Identified Critical Cost Growth, and the Army Should Take Action to Yield Cost Savings
Government Accountability Office
The Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV)
Congressional Research Service
The Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)
Congressional Research Service
Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process
Congressional Research Service
Defense Primer: Hypersonic Boost-Glide Weapons
Congressional Research Service
Defense Primer: Quantum Technology
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury: Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service
Research
An F-35 Lightning II fighter jet assigned to 16th Weapons Squadron sits on the ramp at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., June 28, 2019. (Photo: Air Force Airman 1st Class Bryan Guthrie)
An Economic Analysis On Risk Sharing, Incentivization, And Defense Procurement Contract Design In The Major Defense Acquisition Program Setting
Daniel C. Miller & James H. Clift, Naval Postgraduate School
This study seeks to determine the optimal contract structure for achieving effective risk-sharing and incentivizing performance in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs). Theoretical modeling and mathematical simulation are used to provide acquisition professionals with a practical tool to combat information asymmetry when contracting for developmental efforts of MDAPs. The research concludes that a dynamic, risk-adaptive incentive model that evolves with program maturity is most effective in combating asymmetric information. Specifically, modifying the standard cost-plus-incentive-fee (CPIF) structure where target profit and share-ratio are variables of target cost was found to be most effective when technical risk and uncertainty are high.
The Problem Child of Defense: A Comprehensive Historical Analysis of the Inherent Imbalances and Structural Contradictions that have Plagued the United States Military Acquisitions System for Eighty Years
Shepherd E. Dollahon, University of Arkansas
This thesis argues that the defense acquisitions system has never suffered primarily from mismanagement or insufficient oversight, but from a structurally embedded incentive architecture that systematically rewards behavior antithetical to the system's stated purpose. Cost overruns, schedule delays, and industrial stagnation persisted not because individual actors were negligent, but because the tripartite relationship between the Department of Defense, private industry, and Congress created conditions in which self-serving behavior was rational and often unavoidable. Every reform era — from McNamara's centralization, to Packard's decentralization, to Rumsfeld's deregulation, to the Better Buying Power initiatives — addressed symptoms of this misalignment rather than its structural root.
Modeling the Lethality of Small Attack Drones and Loitering Munitions
Federico Borsari, Small Wars Journal
This paper presents a probabilistic model to assess the lethality of small tactical strike drones, including widely used first-person view (FPV) quadcopters, and provides a basic yet flexible analytical tool for researchers and planners seeking to better understand the role of these systems in contemporary military operations. The model underpins a series of simulations examining lethality distributions in campaigns against inferior and peer adversaries, enabling the derivation of notional quantitative requirements and cost implications for low-end and high-end strike systems. The results provide an empirical basis to challenge simplistic cost-centric comparisons and mainstream assumptions about the universal effectiveness of attritable mass and to show why inexpensive FPV-type drones are ill-suited as a one-size-fits-all solution across diverse operational environments.
Opportunities
The Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload resides in the cryogenic thermal vacuum chamber at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Naval Center for Space Technology, Washington, D.C., Oct. 8, 2024. (Navy photo by Sarah Peterson)
Chief of Naval Research Announces Prestigious New Fellowship Program
Warren Duffie Jr., US Navy News
To ensure the Office of Naval Research (ONR) has a constant infusion of state-of-the-art knowledge, while simultaneously creating a growing network of researchers who can translate the Navy and Marine Corps’ most pressing challenges into future science and technology (S&T) research, ONR is launching the new Chief of Naval Research Fellows program.
The program will bring five newly tenured academic research professors to ONR for a one-year fellowship in support of critical Naval focus areas, with a stipend of $150,000 per Fellow.
Learn More: Chief of Naval Research Fellows Program
Events
What Is Driving Poor Weapon System Readiness and How Can Readiness Be Improved?
AIRC Insights
26 May 2026
Virtual
MILSATCOM USA
SAE Media
8-10 June 2026
Arlington, VA
Future Force Capabilities
NDIA
8-10 June 2026
Las Vegas, NV
Eurosatory
15-19 June 2026
Paris, France
Congressional M&S Leadership Summit 2026
National Training and Simulation Association
16 June 2026
Orlando, FL
2026 Army Summit
Potomac Officers Club
18 June 2026
Reston, VA
10th Annual Federal Acquisition Conference
Professional Services Council
25 June 2026
Arlington, VA or Virtual
Converge @ NPS
Naval Postgraduate School Foundation
22-24 July 2026
Monterey, CA
2026 Air and Space Summit
Potomac Officers Club
30 July 2026
McLean, VA
One more thing...
A stained-glass window at the church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, created by Paul Renaud and installed in 1969, depicts some of the first actions of D-Day. Photographed March 28, 2026, the Virgin Mary looks down on American paratroopers, who helped make Sainte-Mere-Eglise the first town liberated by Allied forces on June 6, 1944. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Stained-glass soldiers: Europe’s churches preserve American war memories
Phillip Walter Wellman, Stars and Stripes
Across Europe, dozens of historic churches house stained-glass windows that blend sacred imagery with tributes to American military sacrifices during the World Wars. These unique memorials serve as enduring symbols of the special relationship and shared history between the United States and the communities it helped liberate.
- Artistic Fusion: The windows often integrate modern combat elements—such as B-17 bombers, fighter jets, and paratroopers—with traditional biblical figures like Jesus, St. Michael, and the Virgin Mary.
- Community Funding: Many of these memorials were financed by veterans' groups and the families of fallen soldiers who sought to honor specific units or individuals within the hallowed spaces where they served.
- Devotional Debate: While widely respected, some clergy and visitors express mixed reactions over whether overt depictions of weapons and national symbols belong in a religious setting without "glorifying" war.
- Historical Continuity: While the depiction of machine guns may seem modern, the tradition of placing military imagery in church glass dates back centuries, capturing specific historical moments for the community.
- Shifting Perspectives: As modern generations increasingly associate the U.S. military with more controversial recent conflicts, these windows remain critical reminders of a shared historical alliance.
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