Department of War (DoW) Acquisition Reform Signals a New Era for GovCon

Editor's note: The Department of Defense's ongoing transformation under the reestablished Department of War (DoW) umbrella continues to evolve; this article uses "DoW" and "the Department" to reflect that transition.

The Department of War's acquisition reform is not simply a policy update. It represents a shift in how delivery performance, production readiness, and execution discipline are evaluated in relation to warfighter needs.

The "Transforming the Warfighting Acquisition System" memo and the "Warfighter-First" Executive Order together make one point clear: speed only matters when it results in operationally ready capability. Accountability has not gone away. It has intensified.

Deltek anticipated this shift and is helping government contractors translate these policy signals into operational reality.

The New Reality: Warfighter-First, Speed-Driven Acquisition

The Department's "Transforming the Warfighting Acquisition System" memo and the Warfighter-First Executive Order send a unified signal. Acquisition speed now exists to serve warfighter readiness, not just process efficiency.

Under this combined direction, acquisition officials are expected to adopt a commercial-first approach that prioritizes faster delivery, performance-based outcomes, and flexible contracting mechanisms such as Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) and Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs). At the same time, the Warfighter-First Executive Order is a critical dimension:

• Speed must be proven, not promised
• Execution must be measured, not assumed

This shift expands access for nontraditional contractors and innovators, while significantly raising the bar for accountability. Delivery performance, production readiness, and execution discipline are no longer aspirational goals; they are essential requirements. They are enforceable expectations with enterprise-level consequences.

As Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth noted the Department is reinforcing a model that prioritizes fielding while maintaining accountability for measurable results.

The Five Pillars Driving Reform

The Department's acquisition strategy centers on five priorities that directly shape contractor expectations:

1. Rebuilding the Defense Industrial Base by expanding supplier participation
2. Empowering the acquisition workforce to deliver faster using commercial best practices
3. Maximizing flexibility through streamlined regulations
4. Developing high-performance systems through open architectures
5. Improving lifecycle risk management through portfolio oversight and Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) reform

These pillars reward early delivery and transparency, while reinforcing the need for audit-ready, defensible systems.

The Warfighter-First Executive Order – What Contractors Need to Know

On January 8, the Administration issued the Executive Order "Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting," establishing new expectations for defense contractors providing weapons, equipment, and critical supplies.

Contractors are no longer evaluated on intent or plans alone. They are evaluated on their ability to produce secure, defensible evidence of execution in real time. This EO significantly increases pressure on contractors to perform across cost, schedule, production, and quality dimensions. Key provisions include:

1. Identification and Remediation of Underperforming Contractors

The Secretary of Defense must identify contractors failing to meet delivery, cost, or production requirements and require formal remediation plans within 15 days.

This places a premium on:

• Real‑time performance insight
• Traceable, defensible cost/schedule data
• Rapid corrective‑action planning

2. Restrictions on Stock Buybacks and Dividends

The EO authorizes the Department to restrict stock buybacks or issuing dividends during remediation periods, linking financial actions directly to operational outcomes.

3. Executive Compensation Caps

The EO enables the Department to include contract provisions that cap executive compensation and tie it directly to contract performance.

4. SEC Review of Buyback Protections

The EO directs the SEC to consider revising regulations that shield contractors during stock buybacks, potentially broadening oversight.

4. Use of Defense Production Act (DPA) Authorities

The EO reinforces the Department's ability to leverage:

• Voluntary agreements
• Contract amendments
• DPA production prioritization

to accelerate production or enforce compliance.

What This Means for GovCon Organizations

The EO creates an environment where proving performance is just as important as delivering it. Contractors now face measurable expectations across:

• Strategic BD planning
• Pricing rigor
• Financial management
• Cost & schedule integration
• Production readiness
• Workforce optimization
• Quality assurance
• Cyber & data‑rights discipline

Contractors cannot meet these expectations with fragmented systems or after‑the‑fact reporting.

They must operate with:

• Real‑time portfolio performance
• Integrated cost and schedule data
• Actionable dashboards
• Proven quality controls
• Complete regulatory traceability
• Cyber‑secure cloud infrastructure

This is exactly where Deltek provides unmatched value.

Compliance as a Competitive Advantage Under Warfighter-First Accountability

Every acquisition decision is now judged by whether it accelerates capability delivery to the warfighter.

The FAR model is being complemented by more agile contracting approaches without removing expectations for accountability, documentation, and secure execution. Portfolio Acquisition Executives now oversee budgets, risks, and performance across capability areas. Programs that fall behind schedule or readiness targets face immediate scrutiny.

The Department is also reintroducing multiyear procurement strategies and a "two-to-production" multi-sourcing standard to stabilize production and reduce supply-chain risk.

Under the Warfighter-First Executive Order, underperformance is no longer isolated to a single program. Delays, rework, and unrealistic commitments accumulate as enterprise-level risk that is visible, reputational, and actionable.

This environment makes governed execution and real-time visibility a competitive differentiator.

Recent discussions at the 2025 Baird Defense & Government Conference reinforce this shift. While traditional primes continue to see steady growth, software-driven and AI-enabled defense firms are commanding significantly higher valuation multiples, reflecting investor confidence in speed, scalability, and execution discipline. In a warfighter-first environment, the same capabilities that drive readiness and delivery performance increasingly determine enterprise value as well as which contractors are trusted with scale, acceleration, and follow-on work.

OTAs and CSOs: Speed with Heightened Risk

OTAs and CSOs have moved from experimental tools to central acquisition mechanisms. They enable faster awards, flexible terms, and rapid prototype-to-production transitions.

Their advantages are clear:

• Faster time to award
• Tailored pricing and data rights
• Reduced procedural overhead
• Accelerated fielding

However, these vehicles also increase delivery pressure, data rights complexity, and supply-chain scrutiny. Contractors must replace after-the-fact explanations with real-time, defensible evidence of execution.

This is where fragmented systems break down.

Why Legacy Systems Are Falling Behind

Many contractors still rely on systems built for compliance reporting after delivery, not execution proof during delivery, which creates risk. Execution must now be governed and visible as work happens.

Modern acquisition requires:

• Integrated cost, schedule, and risk visibility
• Flexible support for FAR, OTA, and CSO contracts
• Real-time performance insight across multi-sourced programs
• Continuous compliance and cybersecurity readiness

Without these capabilities, speed becomes risk instead of an advantage.

How Deltek Powers Contractors to Deliver Under the Warfighter-First Execution

Deltek is purpose-built to help GovCons and A&D Manufacturers translate policy signals into operational control.

Powered by Dela™, Deltek’s embedded AI, the platform connects opportunity, pricing, execution, manufacturing, risk, and compliance into one system of record. Dela surfaces risk early, automates analysis, and supports faster, evidence-based decision-making as scrutiny increases.

Win Earlier with Intelligence

• Deltek GovWin IQ provides early visibility into OTA consortia activity, CSO opportunities, and portfolio realignments.
• Deltek ProPricer enforces pricing realism and audit-ready assumptions across FAR and non-FAR pursuits.

Deltek PPM: Execution Proof and Scale with Control

Deltek Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Suite (Open Plan, Cobra, Acumen) integrates cost, schedule, and risk to prevent delays before they derail delivery commitments, especially in multisourced programs. This is an essential capability under the EO's remediation requirements.

• Cobra delivers earned value cost control
• Open Plan provides detailed schedule performance
• PM Compass unifies dashboards showing real‑time earned value, risks, and trends
• Acumen supports scenario modeling and mitigation planning

Together, they enable contractors to show the DoD:

"Here's where we are, what's slipping, what it costs, and what we're doing about it."

Deltek TIP Technologies: Enforcing Quality at Manufacturing Speed

The EO and ongoing DoW reforms place enormous pressure on production readiness and quality.

TIP Technologies helps manufacturers:

• Reduce downtime through enforced quality standards
• Maintain complete digital traceability across the build process
• Prevent delays caused by rework or supplier quality escapes
• Align with EO 14265 and ISO9001 expectations

This ensures that end‑item delivery accelerates—not at the expense of quality, but because of it.

Costpoint: Unified Financial & Operational Control with Cybersecurity Built In

Deltek Costpoint unifies financial, operational, and manufacturing data across R&D, prototyping, and production. This unified environment enables:

• Transparent cost reporting
• Accurate IRAD tracking complaint with DCAA & DTIC
• Real-time program visibility

While OTAs may reduce FAR burden, they do not reduce cybersecurity expectations. Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate (GCCM) is FedRAMP Moderate Equivalent per Department policy and supports contractor compliance with DFARS 252.204-7012 and CMMC requirements, providing secure, defensible evidence of performance under scrutiny.

The Deltek Difference: From Policy Signal to Operational Reality

The Warfighter-First Executive Order does not redefine performance. It enforces it.

Contractors must now

• prove acceleration,
• execution discipline,
• secure operations at scale.

Deltek provides Government Contractors the Speed, Clarity, and Control needed not only to survive this shift but deliver for the mission and stand up under scrutiny.

Act Now to Stay Competitive

These reforms are already shaping awards, evaluations, and oversight.

If your systems cannot:

• Manage FAR, OTA, and CSO work together
• Surface delivery risk early
• Prove compliance and cybersecurity readiness continuously

Then speed becomes exposure.

Deltek helps contractors move faster with confidence and deliver what the warfighter needs, when it matters most.

If you have questions about how Deltek's GovCon solutions can help you operate with speed, clarity, and control, reach out to our team at Deltek.com to start the conversation.