Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said acquisition reform will play a central role in strengthening the Department of the Air Force’s ability to compete and maintain dominance during a period of rapid technological change, the U.S. Space Force reported Thursday.
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How Is DAF’s Acquisition Reform Reshaping Decision-Making?
Meink, a 2026 Wash100 awardee, said DAF is pushing authority down to lower levels to enable faster and more flexible program execution.
In March, the Space Force announced six mission areas to be managed by portfolio acquisition executives, or PAEs. The move came two months after the Air Force began implementing the Warfighting Acquisition System by announcing the first tranche of five PAEs overseeing fighters and advanced aircraft; command, control, communications and battle management; nuclear command, control and communications; weapons; and propulsion.
“As a rule, we’re delegating nearly every decision authority that we’re legally allowed to down to the PAE level,” he said.
The secretary added that the department has delegated 85 percent of contracting authorities to PAEs, with that figure reaching 92 percent for the Space Force.
Why Is the Department Shifting to a Minimum Viable Product Approach?
Meink highlighted the need to drive a cultural shift in acquisition and noted that the new approach should focus on building minimum viable products rather than pursuing fully optimized systems with expanded requirements.
“It doesn’t matter if we have something that works perfectly under all conditions,” he said. “If it is too expensive and we can’t build enough of them to be effective, it’s a failed program.”
Meink on Need for Talent
Meink said talent remains a critical factor in executing acquisition reform and modernization efforts.
He emphasized the need to recruit and retain personnel with science, technology, engineering and mathematics expertise to support program development and decision-making.
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