Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has unveiled sweeping changes to how the Pentagon purchases weapons, allowing the military to more rapidly acquire technology amid growing global threats.
In a speech to industry leaders, military commanders and officials at the National War College, he detailed the transformation of the Defense Acquisition System in accordance with an executive order signed by Donald Trump in April.
“Today, at my direction, the defense acquisitions system as you know it is dead,” Hegesth said. “It’s now the warfighting acquisitions system. This isn’t just a name change.”
“We are not building for peacetime,” he went on. “We are pivoting the Pentagon and our industrial base to a wartime footing. Building for victory should our adversaries FAFO [f*ck around and find out].”
The restructuring is aimed at addressing what officials describe as “unacceptably slow” procurement by cutting through DOD red tape. The plan will create Portfolio Acquisition Executives who will have direct authority over major weapons programs to eliminate bureaucracy, while commercial products will become the default acquisition approach, streamlining the solicitation process, according to a memo seen by media outlets.
