The Pentagon chooses learning over losing
The secretary’s reforms reveal a revolution: the recognition that adaptability trumps performance.
Bryan Clark | November 12, 2025
Commentary Acquisition Pentagon Industry
The acquisition reforms announced last week by Secretary Pete Hegseth reflect a revolutionary shift in mindset: after decades of aspiring to remain the world’s most advanced force, the U.S. military has finally recognized that adaptability trumps performance.
Better late than never. The last few years of war in Ukraine, the Red Sea, and Israel have been screaming the lesson that better kit doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, “better” means something different than it did even a decade ago.
Rather than faster, bigger, or rangier, the better solution today is one that is already fielded and good enough for the current situation, as we noted in our work with the Pentagon in the runup to the reforms’ release. The only guarantee is that “good enough” will be different in a few weeks or months.
Build an adaptation pipeline
The Pentagon has long taken years to envision, specify, manufacture, and deliver systems to warfighters. The fundamental bet was that these exquisite products would remain superior to countermeasures at least as long as it would take to produce their replacements.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/11/pentagon-chooses-learning-over-losing/409476/?oref=d1-homepage-river
