The U.S. Department of Defense has fundamentally changed how it buys military technology, and defense contractors are noticing the difference. Under a reorganization announced in 2025, the Pentagon created Program Acquisition Executives (PAEs) to replace the slower, more fragmented program executive office structure. Early feedback suggests the shift is already accelerating technology adoption for the warfighter.

What Changed in the Pentagon's Acquisition Process?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon was reorganizing existing program executive offices into portfolio acquisition executives. The key difference: "The acquisition chain of authority will run directly from the program manager to the PAE," Hegseth said. "Each PAE will be the single accountable official for portfolio outcomes and have the authority to act without running through months or even years of approval chains".

Under the old system, requirements specialists, budget officers, testers, and logisticians operated in separate silos. Any one of them could block a decision for legitimate process reasons. The PAE model consolidates that authority, allowing a single executive to make trade-offs between cost, schedule, and performance while prioritizing time to field and mission outcomes.

"The acquisition reform that introduced the PAE architecture has been a very positive change. The ability to empower somebody with the ability to make trade-off decisions about budgets and about requirements is critical. These new PAEs can make decisions about moving money between budget lines. They can make decisions about trading off between requirements and funding," said Bill Guyan, Senior Vice President of Business Development and President of International Operations at Leonardo DRS.

Bill Guyan, Senior Vice President of Business Development and President of International Operations, Leonardo DRS

Guyan explained the practical impact: "The PAE can say, okay, I heard you all, but I'm making this decision because this is good enough, we'll fix the rest of it later. The PAE development is really important and making a big difference".

Guyan

Which Military Branches Are Leading the Charge?

The U.S. Army has emerged as the leader in implementing the PAE structure, followed by the Air Force and Navy. According to a U.S. Army release, the new Army PAE construct includes six major portfolio areas:

• Maneuver Air: Covers aviation, rapid capabilities, and critical technologies
• Maneuver Ground: Encompasses soldier systems, combat support, and ground combat systems
• Fires: Includes ground combat systems, missiles, space, and armaments and ammunition
• Agile Sustainment and Ammo: Focuses on logistics and ammunition supply chains
• Layered Protection and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense: Addresses defense command and control
• Counter Command and Control: Covers simulation, training, instrumentation, and network systems

"Army arguably had the biggest problem to fix," Guyan noted. "They have such a wide portfolio of things that they're trying to do, and the hard decisions of trade-offs and modernization were getting stuck. So, the Army helped itself by being first, and we're seeing, as an Army supplier, a lot of fixes that come as a result of that".

How Is the Pentagon Speeding Up Counter-Drone Technology Adoption?

Beyond the PAE restructuring, the Pentagon is using another acquisition innovation to accelerate counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology deployment. The Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401), established in summer 2025, was created specifically to develop counter-UAS technology for defending the U.S. homeland. The task force has released a catalog of approved technologies that any buyer can purchase from, and it is beginning to release Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to suppliers, allowing broader commercial access.

According to the Department of Defense, JIATF 401 considers a wide range of counter-UAS approaches:

• Directed-Energy Systems: Microwave and laser-based technologies for disabling drones
• Kinetic Interventions: Physical methods to bring down unmanned aircraft
• Radio-Frequency Capabilities: Detection and jamming systems to disrupt drone communications
• Radar and Sensing: Advanced detection using radar, acoustic sensing, and optical tracking

"The Secretary of the Army was here [at Eurosatory] to sign an agreement with eight other allied countries, giving them access to that catalog as well," Guyan added, indicating that the U.S. is extending these acquisition reforms to its international partners.

Why Does This Matter for Defense Technology Innovation?

The combination of PAE authority and streamlined counter-UAS acquisition represents a significant shift in how the Pentagon approaches technology adoption. By removing approval bottlenecks and empowering single executives to make trade-off decisions, the Department of Defense is addressing a longstanding complaint from industry: the military moves too slowly when adopting new technology. These reforms signal that real, lasting acquisition reform may finally be taking hold at the Pentagon, potentially accelerating the deployment of autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and other emerging defense technologies to the warfighter.

For defense contractors and startups, the message is clear: the Pentagon is serious about speed. Companies that can demonstrate capability and readiness may find a much faster path from prototype to deployment than was possible under the previous system.