The Warfighting Acquisition System: What the Biggest Shift in DoD Buying Means for Technology Companies
Last week’s release of Transforming the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System is likely the most consequential change in defense acquisition policy in decades and it sends a very clear message to the industrial base, startups, and commercial vendors:
Speed, modularity, and mission impact now outrank process, compliance, and tradition.
For companies building AI, cybersecurity, PQC, quantum, edge compute, cloud, analytics, sensors, or advanced manufacturing technologies, this is not just a policy update.
It’s an open door.
In this post, I break down the key structural shifts and what they mean for vendors navigating federal pathways.
The Big Picture: A Wartime Acquisition Footing
The memo is explicit: the Department is redesignating the Defense Acquisition System (DAS) as the Warfighting Acquisition System (WAS), elevating acquisition into a warfighting function in its own right. Speed and operational relevance are the organizing principles.
The document cites three systemic barriers the new system is designed to break:
Fragmented accountability
Broken incentives
Procurement behaviors that discourage industry investment
This is the first time in decades that the DoD has committed to a unified, structural realignment of how technology gets from concept to fielding.
1. Portfolio Acquisition Executives: Real Power, Real Accountability
One of the most important changes is the creation of Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs) — empowered leaders with authority to:
Move funding within a portfolio
Make requirement trades
Authorize cost/schedule/performance pivots
Direct contracting officers
Accelerate delivery timelines
Use MOSA to drive module-level competition
This is a massive departure from legacy program-centric structures and will reshape how companies position offerings.
What this means for industry:
If you can integrate across a capability category AI, data, comms, cyber defense, hypersonics, sensors, etc. you now have portfolio-level entry points, not just program entry points.
2. Commercial-First Becomes Policy, Not Posture
The memo mandates a commercial-first orientation:
Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs) preferred
OTA pathways encouraged at scale
Enhanced presumption of commerciality
Preference for modifying commercial tech vs developing bespoke systems
Non-FAR methods elevated as tools of first resort
This means commercial technology no longer needs to “fit” the DoD the DoD intends to adjust its processes to adopt commercial tech faster.
Implication:
If you have a commercial product with clear operational utility, your path to contract is now shorter and more flexible than ever.
3. Direct-to-Supplier Contracting Will Reshape the Industrial Base
Another major reform: DoD is shifting toward direct contracting with subsystem, component, and critical suppliers, not only prime contractors.
The memo prioritizes:
Reducing pass-through costs
Increasing transparency into supply chains
Securing multiple sources for critical components
Expanding supplier-level investment and oversight
Implication:
If you are a mid-tier vendor, component provider, software supplier, or subsystem innovator you no longer need a prime as your gatekeeper.
4. MOSA, Modularity & Interoperability Are No Longer “Nice-to-Have”
The directive strengthens DoD’s commitment to Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA):
Mandatory delivery of key interfaces
Government purpose rights for integration
Module-level competition
Machine-readable interface repositories
Rapid substitution of components without full system requalification
Implication:
Companies with open, interoperable, standards-based architectures will have a strategic advantage in competing for WAS-aligned portfolios.
5. PPBE Flexibility Signals a More Agile Budget Environment
The Department is explicitly tying PPBE reform to acquisition reform. The memo outlines moves toward:
Greater reprogramming authority inside portfolios
Looser below-threshold movements
More continuous funding flows
Better alignment between budget structures and capability portfolios
For vendors, especially emerging tech companies:
This matters.
It means programs can buy faster and adjust faster reducing the long funding gaps that often kill tech adoption.
6. Test, Evaluation, and Certification Will Become Faster and More Scalable
One of the biggest bottlenecks in defense acquisition is testing and certification.
The memo directs major changes:
Persistent accredited test environments
Rapid qualification pipelines
Component-level recertification
More risk-based technical authority
Faster validation of modified systems
Implication:
Companies updating software weekly AI models, analytics, cybersecurity now have a more realistic path to continuous deployment.
7. The Cultural Reset: Incentives, Risk, Workforce Transformation
The reform is not just bureaucratic — it’s cultural.
The memo pushes:
Longer PM tenures
Incentives for taking smart risks
Workforce rotation with industry
A new Warfighting Acquisition University (WAU)
Flattened chains of command
Simplified oversight and documentation
“Every review must justify its existence”
Implication:
This is the closest the Department has come to embracing the pace and mindset of the commercial tech sector.
What This Means for Technology Companies
If you are a commercial tech company especially in AI, data, analytics, cybersecurity, PQC, quantum, or cloud this memo dramatically improves your ability to get into the federal market and scale once you’re in.
The opportunity is clearest in three areas:
1. Faster Entry
CSOs, OTAs, and commercial-first pathways eliminate months or years of overhead.
2. Broader Aperture
Portfolio-level decision makers, not isolated programs, can now adopt tech that addresses cross-cutting mission needs.
3. Higher Throughput
Testing, budgeting, and transitions to production are now designed for speed rather than compliance.
This is the moment for technology companies to reposition their federal go-to-market:
Simplify value propositions around mission impact and speed.
Align solutions to capability portfolios and MOSA standards.
Demonstrate readiness for rapid fielding and iteration.
Engage earlier with acquisition leaders and mission owners.
Build commercial-first pathways into your FedRAMP / DoD compliance roadmap.
The Bottom Line
This shift toward a Warfighting Acquisition System is not theoretical. It is designed to change how the Department buys and fields technology starting right now.
For companies in AI, cyber, data, edge compute, PQC, and quantum this memo creates real openings, removes obstacles, and accelerates timelines. Those who act early will shape the new playbook.
If you want help interpreting what this means for your company, your federal strategy, or your product positioning, I’m happy to jump on a call.