Breaking Barriers

MITRE’s "Breaking Barriers in Defense Acquisition" Summit, held in May 2025, launched a transformative journey to modernize defense acquisition for speed, innovation, and warfighter effectiveness.

Bringing together leaders from government, industry, and academia, the event identified critical challenges and actionable solutions to streamline processes and empower non-traditional contractors and small businesses.

As the first step in this reform effort, the Summit catalyzed collaboration and bold ideas to address global security threats. This page serves as a central hub for advancing these efforts, connecting stakeholders with resources, insights, and strategies to reshape defense acquisition and deliver mission-critical capabilities at speed and scale.

Contact us at: breakingbarriers@mitre.org

Agenda

May 7 (Open to media, sessions streamed online)

Participants will be immersed in a full day of keynotes, panels, and debate. Expect a call to action from industry and government voices tackling acquisition’s toughest challenges. Results will be released from the inaugural survey on the state of defense acquisition, and in-person attendees can tour MITRE’s cutting-edge research and technology labs.

8:00 - 8:45am	Registration and Breakfast
8:45 - 9:00am	Welcome Remarks Dr. Mark Peters, President & Chief Executive Officer, MITRE
9:00 - 9:15am	Keynote Remarks – DoD Leadership Admiral Samuel Paparo, USN, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
9:15 - 9:55 am	Keynote Remarks – DoD Leadership Joseph Welch, Deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Futures Command
9:55 - 10:10 am	Keynote Remarks – A View from the Hill (pre-recorded) U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01)
10:10 - 10:30am	Networking Break
10:30 - 11:00am	Fireside Chat The Honorable Eric Fanning, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
11:00am - 12:00pm	Panel – Innovation & Disruption for Capability Driven Acquisition Moderator: Dr. Charles Clancy, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE Labs, Chief Technology Officer, MITRE Dr. George Ka'iliwai III, National Security Fellow, MITRE Sha-Chelle Manning, Chief of Commercial Strategy, DARPA Dr. Andrew Puryear, VP & Chief Technology Officer, L3Harris Technologies Major General Edward Vaughan, Executive Director, Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell (JRAC)
12:00 - 1:00pm	Lunch
1:00 - 1:15pm	State of Defense Acquisition Survey Results Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
1:15 - 1:25pm	Keynote Remarks - Industry Perspective
1:25 - 2:15pm	Panel – Buying Better to Accelerate DoD Capability Moderator: Dr. Arun Seraphin, Executive Director, NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute Matt Cronin, Senior National Security Policy and Regulator Advisor, Andreessen Horowitz Sunmin Kim, Chief of Policy, DIU Jason Moy, Legal Counsel, Palantir Technologies Mark Stewart, Director, National Security U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft
2:15 - 2:40pm	Networking Break
2:40 - 3:25pm	Panel – Scaling & Revitalizing the Manufacturing Base & Supply Chain Moderator: Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Silverado Policy Accelerator Tim Greeff, President and Founder, NSTXL Dr. Bill Greenwalt, Senior Fellow, AEI Chris Toffales, President and Managing Director, CTC Aero Becca Wasser, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Defense Program, CNAS
3:25 - 4:10 pm	Panel – Extending Capabilities through Allies & Partners Moderator: Dr. LeAnne Howard, Senior Principal - National Security, MITRE Joanne Lostracco, Director General (Minister) – Washington Sector, Embassy of Canada John Moffat, Minister Counsellor Defence Policy & Nuclear, British Embassy Washington The Honorable Alan Shaffer, Director, Washington Operations, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Vikram Singh, Senior Vice President, WestExec Advisors
4:10 - 4:30pm	Keynote Remarks – DoD Leadership Maj Gen Alice Trevino, USAF, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
4:30 - 6:00pm	Networking Reception & Lab Tours
6:00 - 7:35pm	Dinner with Keynote Remarks U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Member - Senate Armed Services Committee, Chair - Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

View Recorded Sessions

May 8 (Conducted under Chatham House Rule)

Participants will engage in focused, concurrent workshops to deliver recommendations for acquisition reform.

7:00 - 8:00am	Registration and Breakfast
8:00 - 8:05am	Welcome and Intro
8:05 - 8:30am	Fireside Chat – Allies & Partnerships HE the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd AC, Australia's Ambassador to the United States Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
8:30 - 8:45am	Day 1 – Re-cap and instructions for the workshops
8:45am - 12:00pm	Working Group Sessions Workshop #1 – Extending Software Intensive Acquisition Pathways Workshop #2 – Rapid Acquisition for DoD Priority Capabilities Workshop #3 – Supply Chain and Revitalizing the Manufacturing Base Workshop #4 – Strengthening Capabilities with Allies and Partners
12:00 - 12:45pm	Networking Lunch
12:45 - 2:00pm	Working Groups finalize recommendations
2:00 - 2:20 pm	Working Groups Readouts Workshop #1 – 2:00-2:05 Workshop #2 – 2:05-2:10 Workshop #3 – 2:10-2:15 Workshop #4 – 2:15-2:20
2:20 - 2:30pm	Next Steps, Action Items, and Thank You

MITRE Team

Additional Resources

Defense Acquisition

Explore a curated collection of articles, draft legislation, policy documents, and other reference materials designed to enhance your understanding of key topics to be discussed at the upcoming MITRE Breaking Barriers in Defense Acquisition Summit May 7-8.

Have a resource you'd like to see included? Send your recommendations to breakingbarriers@mitre.org for consideration.

White House Executive Order: “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement”
Date: April 15, 2025

White House Executive Order: “Modernizing Defense Acquisition and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base”
Date: April 9, 2025

White House Executive Order: "Reforming Foreign Defense Sales to Improve Speed and Accountability"
Date: April 9, 2025

Boston Consulting Group: “Militaries Are Deploying Mission-Based Return on Investment to Make Smarter Decisions”
By Marc Giesener, Matt Aaronson, Matthew Schlueter, Emily Carroll, Lauren Mayer, and Lara Mitra
Date: April 8, 2025

Defense and Security Monitor: “A Backgrounder on Trump’s Golden Dome for America”
By Daniel Darling
Date March 14, 2025

Defense Scoop: “Pentagon gearing up to train personnel on new ‘default’ software buying approach”
By Brandi Vincent
Date: March 11, 2025

The Ronald Reagan Institute: National Security Innovation Base Report Card 2025
Date: March 4, 2025

Defense Acquisition Magazine: “Nontraditional Acquisition—Making the Golden Dome for America a Reality”
By Danny Poskey and Kimberly Sulak
Date: March 4, 2025

Defense Acquisition Magazine: “Managing Space Acquisition as a Warfighting Capability”
Date: March 4, 2025
By Stephanie Young, Cynthia R. Cook, Yool Kim, Lauren A. Mayer, Megan McKernan, William Shelton, Éder M. Sousa, Bonnie L. Triezenberg, Jonathan P. Wong

The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Vital Signs 2025 Report: “The Health and Readiness of the Defense Industrial Base”
Date: February 26, 2025

General Atomics: "Reforming Defense Acquisitions To Promote Global Security"
Date: January 26, 2025

L3Harris: “L3Harris CEO Proposes Defense Acquisition Reforms"
Date: January 15, 2025

Senator Wicker: Senator Wicker Announces Pentagon Reform and Innovation Proposal
Date: December 19, 2024

Senator Wicker: The FoRGED Act
Date: December 19, 2024

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): “DOD Acquisition Reform: Military Departments Should Take Steps to Facilitate Speed and Innovation"
Date: December 11, 2024

War on the Rocks: “How to Fix a Broken Defense Department to Beat China and Russia”
By Steve Blank
Date: November 27, 2024

Defense Innovation Board: “Optimizing Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners”
Date: July 10, 2024

American Enterprise Institute (AEI): "Reforming Defense Acquisition in a Changing and Contested Threat Environment”
By William C. Greenwalt
Date: May 23, 2024

National Defense Magazine: “A More Nuanced Look at the ‘Valley of Death'”
By Stew Magnuson
Date June 8, 2023

Navy Lt. works in the command center aboard the USS John P. Murtha

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Learn about NSEC

Breaking Barriers

News & MITRE Thought Leadership

Agenda

May 7 (Open to media, sessions streamed online)

May 8 (Conducted under Chatham House Rule)

Speakers

MITRE Team

Dana (Keoki) Jackson, Sc.D.

Allison Reardon

Additional Resources

Defense Acquisition

National Security Engineering Center