"Arsenal of Freedom" Speech: The Defense Acquisition Paradigm Shift
- David Wood
- Nov 7
- 4 min read
How the Pentagon plans to accelerate capability delivery, expand industrial capacity, and reshape its acquisition culture for a new era.
“Speed to delivery is now our organizing principle.” With that line, Secretary Pete Hegseth set the tone for a sweeping reset in how the Pentagon defines warfighting needs, buys capability, and fields it.
Speaking at the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, Hegseth framed the U.S. acquisition system itself as a threat to readiness and deterrence, quoting Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s September 10, 2001 remarks on bureaucratic inertia to underscore how long the challenge has persisted. The message was not subtle: the United States cannot afford a slow, risk-averse acquisition culture in an era of fast-moving adversaries and accelerating commercial technology.
Hegseth described a transformation spanning requirements, acquisition authorities, industrial production, workforce development, and foreign military sales. The through-line was urgency. Better now is superior to perfect too late.
Below is a breakdown of the reforms he announced and the implications for America’s defense industrial base, including new entrants, subcontractors, and rapid-innovation firms.
Key reforms and structural changes
Modernizing Requirements
The long-criticized JCIDS system will be replaced. Instead, warfighting problems will drive requirements, and funding will align with them from the start. Three new mechanisms anchor the model:
• Requirements and Resourcing Alignment Board to connect top operational needs directly to budgets
• Mission Engineering and Integration Activity to bring operators, engineers, and industry together early to experiment and prototype
• Joint Acceleration Reserve to quickly fund promising solutions so they do not stall between demonstration and adoption
The objective is to shorten the distance between user need, technology availability, and fielded capability.
Portfolio-based Acquisition Authority
Program Executive Offices convert into Portfolio Acquisition Executives with direct responsibility for outcomes and delivery timelines. Instead of diffused responsibility across layers of review, one accountable owner can make tradeoffs and move resources.
Contracting officers embed with program teams and will be evaluated on mission performance, not paperwork volume.
Commercial Solutions First
When a commercially available solution can meet most requirements quickly, it becomes the baseline choice. The model assumes iterative improvement once fielded, rather than holding out for a perfect solution years away.
As Hegseth put it, an eighty-five percent solution in service today is better than waiting for one hundred percent later.
Modular Competition & Industrial Agility
Future systems will increasingly rely on modular designs and component competition. Two qualified sources for critical components will be sought where practical, reducing dependency on single-vendor pathways and encouraging scale, flexibility, and rapid upgrade cycles.
Acquisition Workforce Re-training
A redesigned acquisition university will emphasize applied learning, portfolio accountability, operational context, and longer leadership tenures tied to delivery outcomes. Hegseth signaled a cultural shift toward decision-makers empowered to move quickly and accept risk in service of mission timelines.
Wartime Production Unit
A new structure will negotiate across industry portfolios rather than individual programs, aiming to increase capacity, accelerate contracting, and secure industrial investment. The vision is a modernized “arsenal of freedom” capable of scaling rapidly and producing at tempo.
Foreign Military Sales Alignment
Export processes will align under acquisition leadership to speed delivery to allies, support industrial scale, and reinforce deterrence through partner capacity. Faster delivery abroad is positioned as a strategic imperative, not a secondary function.
What This Means for Industry and Emerging Defense Companies
Lower Barriers to Contribution
Modular architectures and component competitions expand the ability for specialized firms and subcontractors to compete and win. The focus shifts from owning full platforms to delivering critical pieces that improve performance, resilience, or production speed.
Faster Pathways from Demo to Deployment
The new acceleration reserve, early operator involvement, and portfolio flexibility aim to shorten the distance between technology demonstration and funded production.
Clearer Demand Signals
Alignment between operational priorities and budgets creates a more predictable environment for planning, investment, and hiring; particularly for small and mid-sized suppliers.
Higher Performance Expectations
A delivery-focused model rewards firms that move fast and reliably. Those unable to meet pace and production urgency may lose work to competitors who can.
What to Expect Next
• Release of the written directives and strategy documents referenced during the speech
• Initial guidance to Portfolio Acquisition Executives and definition of performance scorecards
• Early programs selected to demonstrate the new model
• Implementation of commercial-first evaluation criteria in solicitations
• Timelines and process adjustments in foreign military sales
• How the services tailor their internal structures to match the new framework
Bottom line
Hegseth’s remarks outlined a decisive shift from process compliance to delivery discipline. The framework favors speed, modularity, competition, and partnership with industry; particularly firms positioned to move quickly and scale production. It seeks to convert years of acquisition debate into execution, placing urgency and fielding timelines above procedural perfection.
The next phase will reveal whether this moment becomes lasting institutional change. The directives arriving in inboxes today are the start. The timelines that follow will determine the impact.