Overview
- The Defense Department publicly released an Acquisition Transformation Strategy and three memos issued Nov. 7 that rename the system the Warfighting Acquisition System and set near-term implementation tasks.
- Undersecretary Michael Duffey said the priority order shifts to schedule, performance, cost, emphasizing faster delivery without making speed an unconditional mandate.
- Acquisition management will move from Program Executive Offices to Portfolio Acquisition Executives empowered to reallocate funds, trade requirements and reduce reliance on legacy studies such as Analyses of Alternatives.
- Policy adopts a commercial-first approach with greater use of the Software Acquisition Pathway, Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transactions, inviting nontraditional firms and accepting iterative “85% solutions.”
- The plan also repositions the Defense Security Cooperation Agency under acquisition and introduces time-indexed incentives, greater contracting officer accountability and a Defense Acquisition University overhaul to a competency-based WAU, even as analysts warn of higher near-term costs and a gradual payoff.