Beyond Barriers

In just one year, the DOW has delivered the most substantial transformation to its acquisition system in decades. The new Warfighting Acquisition System, backed by important legislative changes, accelerates delivery of capabilities and sustainment support to the warfighter, charts the way forward to rebuild the industrial base ecosystem, and empowers a streamlined Warfighting Acquisition Workforce to lead implementation with urgency. The Beyond Barriers Summit connects industry and government leaders to execute next steps in year two of this historic transformation.

In 2025, 57% of the acquisition community cited complex, inflexible processes as the leading barrier to progress. Has the landscape shifted? Hear what’s changed at Beyond Barriers, where our 2026 survey results will be announced.

Contact beyondbarriers@mitre.org for any questions regarding the summit.

Agenda

Day One: April 28, 2026

7:30 - 8:30am	Registration and Breakfast
8:30 – 8:40am	Welcome Remarks by MITRE Dr. Mark Peters, President & Chief Executive Officer, MITRE
8:40 – 9:20am	Fireside Chat with DOW Leadership Hon. Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Marin Halper, Vice President, DOW and Services Center, MITRE
9:20 – 9:40am	Keynote Remarks: DOW Leadership Hon. Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (USW(A&S))
9:40 – 10:00am	Networking Break
10:00 – 11:00am	Fireside Chat with DOW Leadership ADM Rich Correll, Commander, USSTRATCOM Gen. Dale White, USAF, Director, Critical Major Weapon Systems Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
11:00 – 11:05am	Remarks: Acquisition Transformation Leigh Method, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Logistics
11:05 - 11:35pm	State of DOW Acquisition Survey Results Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security Jeff Kwastel, DOW Acquisition Transformation, MITRE Ashley Roque, Reporter, Breaking Defense
11:35 - 1:00pm	Networking Lunch
1:00 – 1:30pm	Keynote Remarks: DOW Leadership James Ruocco, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of War for Acquisition
1:30 – 1:50pm	Keynote Remarks: Industry Perspective Church Hutton, Chief Growth Officer, AeroVironment
1:50 – 2:40pm	Panel: Rapidly Fielding Capabilities for our Warfighters Moderator: Maj. Gen. Edward Vaughan, USAF, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War, Acquisition Integration and Interoperability Margaret Boatner, Vice President, National Security Policy, AIA Matt MacGregor, COO, Creative Defense Network Dhruva Rajendra, CEO, Deterrence MG Jeffrey VanAntwerp, USA, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific
2:40 – 3:00pm	Networking Break
3:00 – 3:50pm	Panel: International Cooperation to Expand the Industrial Base and Enable Burden-Sharing Moderator: Dr. LeAnne Howard, Senior Principal – National Security, MITRE Steve Casazza, President, Defense Trade Solutions COL Emmanuel Castel, Armament Advisor to SACT, NATO Allied Command Transformation Dak Hardwick, VP of International Affairs, AIA CAPT Tim Ketter, USN, Military Professor, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Joanne Lostracco, Director General, Defence Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
3:50 – 4:00pm	Keynote Remarks: A View from the Hill U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)
4:00 – 4:10pm	Closing Remarks Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
4:10 – 5:45pm	Networking Reception & Lab Tours

Agenda subject to change

Day Two: April 29, 2026

8:00 – 9:00am	Registration and Breakfast
9:00 – 9:10am	Welcome Remarks and Day 1 Review Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
9:10 - 9:40am	Keynote Remarks
9:40 - 9:45am	Acquisition Transformation Workshop Instructions
9:45 – 12:30pm	Acquisition Transformation Workshops Workshop 1: Integrating Mission Engineering and Acquisition: Accelerating Data-Informed Capability Delivery Workshop 2: From PEO to PAE: Enabling Portfolio Decision-Making for Rapid Capability Delivery Workshop 3: Accelerate Private Capital Investment Workshop 4: Connecting Capabilities to Kill Chains with MOSA and Interoperability Workshop 5: Fixing the Broken Supply Chain Workshop 6: Aggregating Demand and Linking Global Supply Chains with Allies and Partners
12:30 – 1:00pm	Lunch
1:00 – 1:10pm	Keynote Remarks: A View from the Hill U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT)
1:10 – 2:10pm	Acquisition Transformation Workshop Readouts
2:10 – 2:50pm	Pillar and Initiative Leads with Industry Q&A Pillar 1: Fuel the Arsenal of Freedom: Rebuild the Defense Industrial Base Pillar 2: Elevate and Empower the Acquisition Workforce to Rapidly Deliver Capability Pillar 3: Maximize Acquisition Flexibility through Reduced Regulations and Processes Pillar 4: Develop High Performance Systems through Rigorous Enterprise Technical and Execution Excellence Pillar 5: Improve Effective Lifecycle Risk Management
2:50 – 3:00pm	Closing Remarks Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security