Hegseth Axes Defense Acquisition System To Boost Speed And Volume Of Arms
Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an overhaul of the United States’ military sales and procurement processes on Friday, declaring the current defense acquisition system “dead” and vowing to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in a speech at the National War College.
Speaking to industry leaders, military brass, and government officials, Hegseth outlined an aggressive new strategy to operate on a “wartime footing,” focusing on speed, volume, and results to rapidly build an “arsenal of freedom.”
“The defense acquisition system, as you know it, is dead,” Hegseth stated. “It is now the war-fighting acquisitions system.”
The core of the reforms centers on maximizing the availability of weapon systems for combat, enhancing foreign military sales, and awarding “bigger, longer” contracts. Highlighting the urgency, Hegseth quoted former War Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, calling the “adversary” the “Pentagon bureaucracy.”
“Anything that slows down government contracts will be eliminated,” Hegseth declared, calling the transformation a “matter of life and death” because “innovation is stifled.”
Key changes announced by the Secretary include:
- Relaxed Bidding Requirements: The Department of War will now accept bids that do not meet every single requirement, prioritizing speed in securing essential capabilities.
- Eliminating Oversight: Hegseth promised to remove “excessive” reporting requirements and testing oversight to streamline the process.
- Abolishing JCIDS: The Secretary announced the end of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), the long-standing process for determining military weapon system requirements, clearing the path for faster procurement decisions.
- New “Wartime Production Unit”: The Department of War will establish a new unit designed to coordinate and accelerate manufacturing and delivery.
“If we want to prevent war, we must prepare now,” Hegseth warned. “We’ve been too d— slow to respond.”
The reforms are aimed at both defense acquisition and the arms transfer process with allies. The military will now laser-focus on providing “capabilities to the battlefield” through increased speed and volume.
The address, Hegseth’s second major speech to military members, referenced the challenges of past conflicts, stating, “We went to war with the army we had, not the army he or we wanted.”
The announcement comes as the Trump administration has ramped up the military’s presence in the Caribbean to counter drug trafficking. Hegseth confirmed late Thursday that the U.S. military took out an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three “narco-terrorists.”
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