Experts Make Their Picks for Acquisition Reform Litmus Tests
AI Analysis
The article highlights the need for rapid defense acquisition reform, identifying several key areas for testing its effectiveness, including counter-UAS systems. Experts suggest focusing on technologies with proven readiness to quickly address critical battlefield needs, like improved ammunition for existing guns and mobile C-UAS solutions. Successful implementation hinges on incentivizing industry to scale production and sustain innovation.
Key Takeaways
- Counter-UAS for mobile forces (improved proximity-fused, powered, and guided ammunition) is identified as a near-term, 'easy' test case for acquisition reform.
- Ukraine's demonstrated effectiveness of mobile gun trucks against drones underscores the value of mobile C-UAS systems over fixed defenses.
- The Army's small UAS acquisition is another test case, emphasizing the need for a viable, innovating U.S.-based industry.
- The Pentagon’s ability to consistently move quickly on acquisitions, not just in emergencies, is a key challenge.
- Experts propose collaborative combat aircraft, PNT alternatives to GPS, and counter-drone weapons for small units as broader litmus tests for acquisition reform.
Why It Matters
The slow pace of traditional defense acquisition is a significant vulnerability, particularly in the face of rapidly evolving threats like drones. Successful acquisition reform is crucial for maintaining a technological edge and ensuring warfighters have the capabilities they need when they need them. Prioritizing readily deployable solutions like improved C-UAS ammunition can provide immediate battlefield advantages.
COMMENTARY: Experts Make Their Picks for Acquisition Reform Litmus Tests
Skip to main content
ACQUISITION
COMMENTARY: Experts Make Their Picks for Acquisition Reform Litmus Tests
iStock illustration
National Defense chose three military technologies that are at a high technology readiness level — and are sorely needed by warfighters — to serve as litmus tests for the Pentagon’s latest campaign to change the much-maligned acquisition system.
They are: collaborative combat aircraft; positioning, navigation and timing alternatives to GPS; and counter-drone weapons for small units or vehicles.
We asked four noted experts in military technology and acquisitions for their picks.
An Army soldier performs an equipment demonstration during Ivy Sting 5 on Fort Carson, Colorado. (Army photo)
Alan R. Shaffer, Former Deputy Undersecretary Of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
The Nov. 7, 2025 memo on transforming the Defense Department’s acquisition system was broad and aggressive in scope. The United States has made at least eight attempts at acquisition reform since the 1986 Packard Commission, and none have fully delivered.
The recent memo identified several high-level themes with real potential: increase the use of commercial products; scale production to deliver more capability to the field; maintain speed of delivery over rigid requirements and cost; maintain multiple prototypes; and adopt modular open systems architectures, or MOSA.
Which programs should serve as litmus tests for whether this transformation is real? The answer lies in identifying programs that directly embody these principles and where success or failure will be visible and measurable.
The first litmus test is the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control, or NGC2, program. It directly embodies the commercial-first, MOSA and speed-of-delivery principles. As stated by BCE Consulting, “The Army is seeking the holy trinity of command and control: seamless connections across echelons and functions; resilience, flexibility and interoperability; and the ability to modernize at the speed of technology.”
The Army is exercising this through a series of soldier exercises called “Ivy Sting,” which focuses on commercial-first approaches and modularity. NGC2 became a program of record in 2025, with a brigade-sized fielding targeted for 2026 and a division-sized fielding in 2027. If it meets those timelines, it will be a genuine proof of concept for the new acquisition system.
The second litmus test is munitions production. Scaling output is not a theoretical exercise; it is already under real-world pressure. On March 6, President Donald Trump hosted a meeting with major weapons producers and called for a fourfold weapons production increase. On March 25, the Pentagon announced three major production contracts. The question is whether the defense industrial base can actually respond. It is to be determined.
Finally, the adoption of the multiple-prototype principle is embo