Pentagon Overhauls Weapons Procurement System to Accelerate Deliveries and Boost Wartime Readiness

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced a major overhaul of the Pentagon’s weapons acquisition system, marking one of the most significant shifts in American defense procurement policy in decades. The changes, he said, aim to move the military away from slow, over-engineered systems and toward faster, more flexible weapons production designed for wartime realities.

Speaking to military leaders and defense contractors at the National War College in Washington, Hegseth said the “objective is simple: transform the entire acquisition system to operate on a wartime footing, to rapidly accelerate the fielding of capabilities and focus on results.”

He emphasized that the Pentagon’s traditional approach — prioritizing technical perfection at the expense of speed — had left U.S. forces vulnerable in modern, fast-evolving conflict zones.

“An 85% solution in the hands of our armed forces today is infinitely better than an unachievable 100% solution endlessly undergoing testing,” Hegseth stated, underscoring the need for adaptability and rapid innovation.

The shift comes at a critical moment as wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and rising tensions in the South China Sea, highlight the importance of cost-effective, quickly deployable systems.

Hegseth’s remarks drew particular attention to the lessons from Ukraine, where inexpensive, mass-produced drones have outperformed traditional, high-cost military hardware.

“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation,” he said, arguing that the U.S. must learn from how smaller nations leverage affordability and speed to outmaneuver technologically superior adversaries.

The new reforms also reflect growing U.S. concern about strategic competition with China, which has invested heavily in domestic arms manufacturing and drone technology.

By cutting bureaucratic red tape, Hegseth said the Pentagon hopes to mobilize America’s vast industrial capacity to ensure “speed, scale, and readiness.”

Critics, however, caution that this acceleration could come at a cost. Todd Harrison, a defense acquisition expert at the American Enterprise Institute, warned that “if contractors aren’t incentivized to meet all performance standards, the military may receive systems that don’t function as expected.”

Concerns have also been raised about potential transparency and oversight issues, particularly if smaller private firms — often opaque and less regulated — replace traditional defense giants.

Hegseth appeared undeterred by such warnings, pointing to historical precedents such as the rapid production of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles during the Iraq War, when the Pentagon circumvented traditional processes to deliver urgently needed protection to U.S. troops.

“The entire process must move at the speed of the MRAP,” he declared.

In addition to reshaping the domestic procurement process, Hegseth said the Pentagon will seek to expand arms sales abroad — a move aligned with President Donald Trump’s efforts to “bring cold, hard cash to American manufacturers.”

He argued that simplifying export regulations would not only strengthen U.S. alliances but also reinforce the nation’s defense industrial base.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hailed the plan as “a game changer for U.S. defense,” pledging to support its implementation in the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act.

The reforms represent a broader shift in U.S. defense strategy — away from bureaucratic caution and toward a model designed for high-speed competition in a multipolar world.

By fusing private innovation with military demand, Hegseth’s Pentagon seeks to ensure that America’s arsenal evolves not for the wars of the past, but for those rapidly emerging on the global horizon.