Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has issued a draft memo directing DOD to adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway, or SWP, to speed up software development efforts, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.
The move is part of the Pentagon’s efforts to transform how it procures and deploys software and other technologies.
“Software is at the core of every weapon and supporting system we field to remain the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. While commercial industry has rapidly adjusted to a software-defined product reality, DoD has struggled to reframe our acquisition process from a hardware-centric to a software-centric approach,” according to the draft memo obtained by the publication.
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What Is SWP?
Created in 2020, SWP is a practice meant to accelerate software development through the implementation of the private sector’s best practices. It is a streamlined process for acquiring software programs bespoke to the requirements of DOD.
Through the pathway, organizations can field capabilities into systems within six months or less.
Use of Commercial Solutions Opening
According to Breaking Defense, the memo also requires the use of a commercial solutions opening as the “default solicitation” process.
Developed by the Defense Innovation Unit, the commercial solutions opening process enables DOD to implement a more flexible and faster approach when working with nontraditional defense contractors. Other transaction agreements are usually awarded as a result of this solicitation process.
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