Digital Engineering: Accelerating the Defense Acquisition & Development Cycle in an Era of Strategic Competition

Heather R. Penney & Brian J. Morra

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Introduction

Technological superiority has long underpinned America’s military dominance. However, decades of prioritizing counterinsurgency missions, deferring foundational recapitalization programs, and divesting force structure to cope with budget pressures have eroded that advantage. This is especially true for the Department of the Air Force. Today’s Air Force flies the oldest, smallest aircraft inventory in its history, and the Space Force is pressed to overhaul most elements of its technical architecture to meet the rise in demand for space-based capabilities while mitigating the burgeoning threat environment on orbit.

Rapidly restoring and expanding American overmatch—especially in air and space—is now an urgent national security priority that requires fielding new technologies at scale. Yet, the DOD’s legacy approaches to acquisition, development, and sustainment have proven too costly and inefficient to meet warfighter needs. New defense programs still require well over a decade to transition from requirements definition to initial operational capabilities. Likewise, modernization programs that insert new capabilities into existing weapon systems remain beset by cost overruns and schedule delays. This is proving too slow to keep pace with the aggressive and ongoing modernization efforts of global adversaries like China and cedes the innovation and agility initiative to these competitors.