On Friday, November 7, 2023, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will speak at the National War College regarding proposed acquisition reforms aimed at accelerating the Pentagon’s procurement process. This event is set to attract a diverse audience, including both established defense contractors and newer tech companies eager to increase their sales to the Department of Defense (DoD). Notable invitees include Meta (the parent company of Facebook) and consumer AI firm Anthropic.
A six-page draft memo detailing Hegseth’s proposed changes is circulating among senior Pentagon leaders, combatant commanders, and defense agency directors. Defense One has obtained a copy of this memo. Preliminary insights from six anonymous company representatives indicate that the event is expected to be a “listening session,” similar to Hegseth’s previous engagement with military leaders.
The memo describes “unacceptably slow acquisition fielding times” and suggests a significant transformation in how the Pentagon approaches procurement. The emphasis will shift from large-scale, multi-year projects—such as fighter jets and aircraft carriers—to smaller, quicker contracting vehicles that mirror a more agile software development process.
Invitees range from well-known prime defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Boeing, to newer defense startups such as ShieldAI and Anduril Industries, which focus on advanced drone technologies and have worked closely with Ukrainian forces adapting their drone strategies and designs quickly.
Major cloud service providers like Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Oracle are also attending and are involved in the Pentagon’s $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract. Additionally, AI company Anthropic has received $200 million from the Pentagon for AI research initiatives in collaboration with Google Cloud.
A comprehensive list of invitees includes:
– Anduril Industries
– Anthropic
– Amazon Web Services (AWS)
– BAE Systems
– Boeing
– Castelion
– Divergent
– EaglePicher Technologies
– Epirus
– General Dynamics
– Google Cloud
– Google Public Sector
– HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
– Honeywell International
– Hermeus
– Karman Space & Defense
– L3Harris Technologies
– Leidos
– Lockheed Martin
– Meta (Facebook)
– Microsoft
– Nammo Defense Systems
– Northrop Grumman
– Oracle
– Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials
– Palantir Technologies
– Rivet Industries
– RTX (Raytheon Technologies)
– Saronic Technologies
– Shield AI
– Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)
– SpaceX
– Textron Inc.
– Ursa Major Technologies
Frank Konkel contributed to this report.
