The momentum to fundamentally transform America’s defense acquisition system has never been stronger. Galvanized by growing threats from peer adversaries and the rapidly changing nature of modern warfare, House and Senate lawmakers spearheaded acquisition reform efforts in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed last December. The NDAA codified many bold and necessary changes proposed by Republican and Democratic leaders on the armed services committees and by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in his Acquisition Transformation Strategy.
The effort to implement these vital reforms has now entered a pivotal stage. To maintain the momentum built last year and reinvigorate the “Arsenal of Freedom” that made America a global superpower in the 20th century, our new 21st-century defense acquisition system must draw upon the strength of our nation’s entire industrial base. This includes commercial technology companies, startups and other “new entrants” – as well as established defense tech companies that bring vital expertise, ingenuity and scale. Every company in our highly interdependent ecosystem will play an essential role in delivering a military capable of deterring and defeating China and Russia.
A key element of recent reform proposals and legislation is to inject more “commerciality” into the system. The hallmark of the American commercial system is free and fair competition. When all companies in the market are allowed to compete under the same set of rules, innovation flourishes and our nation unleashes the full breadth of its technological strength.
As Congress and the Department of War (DoW) work to remove barriers to accelerate capability to warfighters and reduce costs for taxpayers, it’s vitally important that they extend those streamlined processes to all companies in the defense industrial base. Current law provides exemptions for “nontraditional defense contractors,” giving them relief from many of the more burdensome federal acquisition regulations, including duplicative cost accounting standards.
Smart and reasonable regulations are needed to maintain transparency and accountability, and the carveout for “nontraditionals” may have been well-intentioned. However, we’re now in an era of what Gen. David Petraeus recently called “industrial-scale warfare.” Capacity is the new capability, and we need every element of the defense tech ecosystem fully engaged, empowered and operating on an equal playing field – including companies with the proven ability to produce essential products at scale. If exemptions from unnecessary regulatory and accounting burdens are enabling “nontraditionals” to move faster, they will undoubtedly have the same positive effect on all other companies in the defense industrial base if applied universally.
Our industry is committed to making investments to increase capacity, streamline production and bolster innovation, as we’ve shown at L3Harris with the billions of dollars we’re investing to increase production of solid rocket motors for missiles and space-based missile warning and defense payloads. The most effective method for government to incentivize even more investment from our industry is by providing consistent demand signals, such as the multi-year munitions procurement frameworks that the DoW is implementing. Congress should ensure that they’re providing the funding necessary to convert these vitally important agreements into definitized contracts.
Expanding the presumption of commerciality for dual-use products is another way in which the DoW can take advantage of the immense innovation and investment happening across the entire defense tech ecosystem. Products that are deemed “of a type” customarily used by the general public can be procured through fast-tracked acquisition pathways that save time and money for both the DoW and industry. Broadening the definition and application of this “of a type” designation would be a highly impactful reform that aligns with the “commercial-first” acquisition approach outlined by Secretary Hegseth. Previously, the process to determine whether a product is “of a type” has been quite lengthy and somewhat arbitrary. In many cases, the process has dissuaded very capable companies from offering their solutions to the Pentagon at all.
Leaders in Washington should be applauded for their efforts to drive the most sweeping reforms to our defense acquisition system that we’ve seen in decades. Transformational change is necessary to rebuild the defense industrial base our nation needs to deter and defeat our adversaries in this renewed era of great power competition. As these reforms are implemented, the Pentagon and Congress must not forget that the strength of America’s “Arsenal of Freedom” is rooted in a commercial system where all companies in the defense tech ecosystem have an equal opportunity to compete and contribute their capabilities for our warfighters. With China and Russia working daily to erode our nation’s technological advantage, we must get it right.
Sam Mehta is President of the Space & Mission Systems and Communications & Spectrum Dominance segments at L3Harris Technologies, a leading provider of defense tech for American and allied warfighters. He has more than 26 years of executive leadership experience in the aerospace and defense industry.