The defense industry hailed the moves, which mirrored changes representatives have lobbied to get for years.
Keith Webster, President of the Chamber of Commerce’s Defense Aerospace Council, called the reforms “bold, timely and forward-looking.” Aerospace Industries Association CEO Eric Fanning labeled them “an ambitious, long-needed overhaul.”
The Pentagon aims to speed up U.S. arms sales to allies by moving the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which runs the process, and the Defense Technology Security Administration, which runs export approvals, directly under acquisitions leadership. This will allow the same officials who manage weapons programs to handle the approval for allies.
Hegseth even invoked the words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — hardly a hallowed figure in the MAGA world — and said the Trump administration planned to “rebuild the defense industrial base into an arsenal of freedom.”
The Pentagon chief’s push at acquisition reform — alongside two other major initiatives moving on Capitol Hill — are seen as efforts to level the playing field in the industry, which has long been dominated by a handful of contractors with deep roots in Washington.
Hegseth has encouraged the expansion of new legal authorities that allow the Pentagon to give billions to upstart contractors that have not yet competed for major Defense Department programs. The reforms also include the creation of powerful “Portfolio Acquisition Executives,” who will run point on Pentagon weapons acquisition and have performance incentives linked to deliveries.
Leave a Reply