Acquisition leaders stress mission, speed and risk to transform culture

Senior acquisition and Department of the Air Force leaders used a main-stage panel at the 2026 Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Sept. 15 to press for an acquisitions culture built around speed, authority and measurable mission effects, rather than program checklists.

On the “Sustaining Forces Through Acquisition and Innovation” panel, Gen. Dale White; Dr. Erich Hernandez-Baquero, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and William Bailey, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, outlined a common objective: empower program teams to make faster, better-informed decisions that translate directly into operational outcomes.

Bailey argued that success metrics must evolve beyond traditional milestones. “We need to shift the focus to mission outcomes,” Bailey said. Instead of treating design reviews or test gates as endpoints, panelists said acquisition leaders should tie those events to the effects a capability is meant to deliver in combat.

Speed is especially critical in space, Hernandez-Baquero said, given the pace of technological change and shifting threats. “We’re living in a very different environment,” Hernandez-Baquero said, underscoring the Space Force’s push for agile execution and its ongoing effort to align Portfolio Acquisition Executives around mission areas, with individual leaders accountable for delivering capabilities.

White said the department’s directive to operate on a wartime footing should reinforce that approach. Cost, schedule and performance remain essential, he noted, but only as means to fielding effective combat power. That posture also reframes risk: leaders should consider what risks they would accept if the nation were at war and act accordingly—without being cavalier. “Fail forward, you don’t fail recklessly,” White said.

Risk management, Hernandez-Baquero added, should be a core competency for program leaders, who must continuously identify and mitigate threats to mission delivery rather than merely track plans. Bailey urged practitioners not to wait for perfect conditions before acting. “If I have a problem, I need to move out on it,” Bailey said. Senior leaders, the panelists agreed, must enable this behavior by delegating authority and clearing bureaucratic obstacles, while field leaders must embrace the responsibility that comes with that authority.

To accelerate the path from lab to launch pad, Hernandez-Baquero announced the Space Force will establish a Technology Portfolio Executive who will report directly to him and serve as a peer to the service’s Portfolio Acquisition Executives. The new executive will focus on surfacing promising technologies and creating pathways to transition them into acquisition portfolios—addressing a persistent gap between development, prototyping and production.

That transition demands earlier, harder choices, White said. “We can’t carry everything to prototype. We can’t carry everything to production,” White said. Leaders must determine which technologies deliver the highest mission value and ensure they can scale into production at the required rate—an approach that also depends on industrial capacity. White emphasized that deterrence relies on manufacturing as much as on innovation, while Hernandez-Baquero pointed to efforts to provide steadier demand signals through mechanisms like multiyear procurements and greater opportunities for commercial providers.

The panelists called for a more collaborative, less transactional relationship with industry. Bailey challenged companies to reassess their own pace and models in light of the department’s push for speed, scale and resilience. “We are sending out the largest signal for change that I’ve seen in my entire career,” Bailey said. “We need you to meet us there.”

Ultimately, they said, acquisition transformation will take root when these principles become daily practice across the force: know the mission, build deep expertise, actively manage risk and use delegated authorities with urgency. Hernandez-Baquero urged practitioners to begin with a basic prompt—what outcome their capability will deliver—and to escalate if the answer isn’t clear. “If you don’t know the answer to that, start asking questions up your chain and work it,” he said.