What Happened
Defense Acquisition Speed Hinges On Flexible Budgeting
The Pentagon’s efforts to reform its acquisition process, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, focus on speed, innovation, and commerciality to get warfighters the capabilities they need quickly. However, the success of this reform hinges on addressing the dysfunctions of the defense budget system, which currently lacks the flexibility seen in civilian agencies like NASA and HHS. According to Breaking Defense, the Pentagon needs to adopt flexible budgeting authorities to move at the speed of Silicon Valley and keep pace with China’s military-civil fusion policies.