Advisory Panel Says Pentagon Needs ‘War Footing Approach’ to Defense Tech Acquisitions

An advisory group created by Congress has released a report that calls for the Department of Defense to adopt a “war footing approach” when it comes to the acquisition and delivery of technological capabilities to warfighters to keep ahead of near-peer competitors’ tech advances, National Defense reported Tuesday.

The Section 809 Panel said in the report its 58 recommendations are divided into 12 sections including the Dynamic Marketplace Framework, portfolio management, information technology procurement, budget and acquisition workforce.

For the portfolio management aspect, the panel urged DoD to move from a program-centric execution model to a portfolio execution model and adopt a “defensewide capability portfolio framework” to ensure the deployment of integrated platforms.

The consulting group said the Pentagon should update acquisition regulations to facilitate the procurement of consumption-based platforms and establish a pilot program to streamline contracting work with IT consultants via an online talent marketplace, according to the volume 3 report.

The report also recommends the revision of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act to focus on efforts that seek to improve professional qualifications; creation of a policy to mitigate supply chain and performance risks through requirements documents; and elimination of redundant requirements for documentation.

The third and final report came seven months after the Section 809 Panel released the volume 3 document.