By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Defense is shifting how it buys software eyeing greater access to commercial and non-traditional software providers as the Pentagon hopes to rapidly modernize its weapons and business systems.
In a memo dated March 6, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to prioritize a new software acquisition effort he hopes will enhance the lethality of the U.S. military. The memo will be a part of a series of Pentagon directives that attempt to change how the Pentagon acquires weapons and support systems.
“It effectively is streamlining the access of those nontraditional commercials so that they can play in the game, that the defense primes are also playing in,” a Defense officials told reporters on a call about the memo.
Defense prime contractors include Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Newer and smaller companies like Second Front Systems have made progress but struggled to gain access to Pentagon projects.
The memo emphasizes the need for the DoD to adapt to the reality of software-defined warfare and to overhaul its acquisition processes to keep pace with commercial technology advancements.
Hegseth stated that the current hardware-centric approach to acquisition has hindered the DoD’s ability to rapidly acquire, deliver, and iterate on weapons and business systems software.
To address this, he has mandated the adoption of the Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP) as the preferred route for all software development components within the DoD.
“Driving a focus on commercial capabilities and faster acquisitions is vital for the Department,” Tyler Sweatt, CEO of Second Front Systems, a Pentagon software provider, told Reuters. “Moving away from building custom software using cost plus style contracts and towards procuring solutions puts better capabilities in the hands of our warfighters.”
The directive also instructs DoD to pursue contracting strategies that maximize the use of commercial solutions as the default approaches for acquiring capabilities. This applies to any software pathway program currently in the planning phase.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in coordination with the Director of the Defense Innovation Unit, has been tasked with developing an implementation plan within 30 days to ensure the swift adoption of these changes.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)