Billions Spent, Warfighters Wait: Inside The Pentagon’s Broken Buying System And The Plan To Fix It

The Pentagon's procurement strategy has kept American forces stocked pinch immoderate of nan astir iconic subject hardware successful history – from nan battle-hardened Humvee to nan cutting-edge Apache helicopter. But according to nan Army's apical exertion officer, it's besides trapped successful a rhythm of outdated reasoning and bloated paperwork that could inhibit nan U.S. successful nan adjacent great-power conflict.

"We still person conscionable complete 100,000 Humvees," Alex Miller, the Army’s Chief Technology Officer, told Fox News Digital, speaking astir nan bequest conveyance first introduced successful nan 1980s. "Even though during nan world War connected Terror, we saw nan threat change."

Miller pointed to roadside bombs, aliases IEDs, which devastated troops successful Iraq and Afghanistan, arsenic a turning point. "There were tons of reports that if a Humvee rolled complete an IED, it conscionable was not a bully business for soldiers," he said.

Still, nan Army continued buying Humvees, moreover arsenic it rushed to section much survivable vehicles for illustration MRAPs and Strykers. That, Miller said, highlights nan larger issue: not a azygous acquisition failure, but a systemwide problem successful really nan subject does business.

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"We still person conscionable complete 100,000 Humvees," Alex Miller, nan Army’s Chief Technology Officer, told Fox News Digital, speaking astir nan now-obsolete bequest conveyance first introduced successful nan 1980s. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo)

"We’re playing by nan aforesaid post-Cold War rules that told america if you person a requirement, you’re going to support connected buying it," Miller said. "Because nan requirements process and nan acquisition process and nan fielding process benignant of ne'er changed, we find ourselves successful this conundrum wherever we still person conscionable complete 100,000 Humvees."

Despite introducing newer vehicles for illustration nan JLTV – designed to switch nan Humvee pinch amended armor and mobility – Miller says nan accelerated gait of technological alteration and emerging threats person near moreover those newer systems astatine consequence of becoming obsolete.

"Even though we proceed to bargain them and person them successful nan budget," he said, "that mightiness not beryllium nan correct reply either."

Miller laid retired the Army's plans to lick a decades-long rumor astatine nan Pentagon, bringing caller weapons systems from nan connection shape to nan battlefront earlier exertion renders them outdated – conscionable arsenic Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a caller memo directing an overhaul of nan Army's acquisitions process. 

"To build a leaner, much lethal force, nan Army must toggle shape astatine an accelerated gait by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, arsenic good arsenic restructuring office and acquisition systems," Hegseth wrote. 

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"Ukraine has not asked for a azygous Apache," he noted. "Our Apaches are a awesome platform. It's amazing. But ... looking astatine much unmanned systems is astir apt nan measurement to go" (Getty Images)

Fighting today’s warfare pinch yesterday’s tools

Miller warned that immoderate of nan Army’s marquee weapons platforms whitethorn not beryllium suited for nan battlefields of nan future.

"Ukraine has not asked for a azygous Apache," he noted. "Our Apaches are a awesome platform. It's amazing. But ... looking astatine much unmanned systems is astir apt nan measurement to go."

He besides raised questions astir nan inferior of bequest artillery platforms for illustration nan Paladin howitzer. Although artillery is dominating nan warfare successful Ukraine, nan Army is stockpiling much Paladins mostly to meet a "minimum sustainment rate" — not because commanders are asking for them.

That benignant of bureaucratic inertia, Miller suggested, is precisely what needs to beryllium upended.

In an effort to modernize much rapidly, nan Army is now slashing reddish portion and rewriting regulations. Under a caller inaugural called "Transforming successful Contact," Army leaders person sent request writers into nan section to unrecorded and train alongside soldiers, gathering real-time feedback alternatively of drafting 300-page documents backmost successful Washington.

"Rather than trying to specify what types of things they need, really astir we conscionable perceive to them for a change?" Miller said. "We started that past twelvemonth … and that has been wildly successful."

Units heading to nan Joint Readiness Training Center astatine Fort Johnson, Louisiana adjacent week will beryllium equipped pinch immoderate of nan astir precocious cogwheel successful nan Army, including autonomous infantry vehicles built pinch Silicon Valley partners, precocious artillery tech and hundreds of drones.

"All because our activity conscionable said, spell do nan correct thing, alternatively than trying to cheque boxes," Miller said.

The RQ-4 had an awesome payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and precocious reconnaissance capabilities - astatine an tremendous cost. (Erik Hildebrandt/Northrop Grumman/Handout via Reuters.)

Now, according to Miller, nan requirements archiving for things for illustration next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles has been whittled down from betwixt 200 and 300 pages to 10. 

In different cases, modernization isn't ever necessary, according to Abigail Blanco, defense master and professor astatine nan University of Tampa. 

Up until a fewer years agone erstwhile it was yet retired, 1 of nan superior reconnaissance systems successful nan War connected Terror was nan RQ-4 Global Hawk. 

The RQ-4 had an awesome payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and precocious reconnaissance capabilities - astatine an tremendous cost. Each 1 was primitively slated to costs $20 cardinal but coiled up costing $220 cardinal per unit. 

"If you look astatine reports from nan Air Force, they many times stated that alternatively of nan [RQ-4], they preferred nan U-2 spy plane, which, to beryllium clear, is simply a relic successful subject terms. It's from nan Cold War period. And truthful it's not ever clear that nan modernization portion is desirable."

A Battle Inside nan Beltway

Some lawmakers and defense officials initially resisted nan Army’s push to streamline systems. 

"The OSD comptroller pushed backmost really hard. Some parts of nan Hill pushed backmost really hard," Miller said. "But we ran a really fierce crushed game.… We’re not asking for much money. We’re asking to walk payer dollars better."

The problem, according to Blanco, is Congress has agelong continued to fund for instrumentality measurement beyond its constituent of usefulness. 

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"If you are an elected typical and your territory manufactures Humvees aliases tanks, you person a really beardown vested liking successful ensuring that that exertion continues to beryllium produced, sloppy whether aliases not it's operationally necessary."

In nan end, Miller said, acquisition betterment isn’t astir cutting corners – it’s astir keeping gait pinch an adversary who doesn’t attraction astir reddish tape.

"The environment, nan threat, and nan reality alteration truthful fast," he said. "We person support to conscionable beryllium ruthless astir moving pinch commercialized entities ... and figuring retired what tin we get successful nan hands of soldiers faster."