Copyright Baltimore News
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will be addressing defense and technology leaders, military commanders, and officials at the National War College on Friday afternoon. Hegseth is expected to reveal changes in how the Pentagon buys and builds weapons, following an executive order from President Donald Trump that was signed back in April. In a draft, six-page memorandum seen by Reuters, Hegseth will detail the changes to the Defense Acquisition System, challenging the “unacceptably slow” practices that have hindered the military from acquiring new technology fast. Hegseth is pushing for the Pentagon to focus on smaller, faster contracts rather than multi-year projects that develop fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and tanks. New and established defense contractors Lockheed Martin, RTX, Palantir Technologies, Ursa Major Technologies, Saronic, and Epirus are expected to attend. Technology companies such as Meta and Anthropic are also expected to be in attendance. The Department of War is looking to fasten the pace of delivery goals, promote competition, and eliminate bureaucracy. These changes will create Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs), new senior officials, who will oversee major weapons programs, to prioritize on-time deliveries. PAEs will report directly to the Army Secretary and Chief of Staff and will serve four-year terms. PAEs will be able to move around resources to be able to meet delivery goals as well as promote “commercial-first contracts. This will consolidate the Army’s 13 program executive offices that oversee the acquisition of weapon systems. The memorandum also proposes utilizing scorecards to measure the performance on delivery capabilities, connecting results to incentives. This is similar to how the Pentagon changed how it purchased software earlier this year.
