DAYTON, OHIO — The U.S. Air Force announced on July 27 that it completed reorganizing its acquisition structure earlier that month. The service redesignated all of its program executive officers as Portfolio Acquisition Executives effective July 4.

The reorganization consolidated all program executive offices into 17 new organizations led by Portfolio Acquisition Executives. These executives hold cradle-to-grave authority over all programs within their respective mission areas, replacing the previous model of fragmented, program-by-program management.

The reforms are part of a Pentagon-wide shift directed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In 2025, Hegseth introduced reforms to the Defense Department’s acquisition processes designed to accelerate capability delivery, grow competition within the defense industrial base, and foster emerging technology innovation.

Hegseth critiqued individual program executive offices as slow and bureaucratic, operating through multi-layered approval chains that were risk-averse and fragmented overall responsibility. The reforms intend to change how the Department of Defense manages capability development and sustainment by encouraging acquirers to prioritize mission outcomes over bureaucratic processes.

Each Portfolio Acquisition Executive has oversight over the entire lifecycle of all platforms in its portfolio. They are charged with enterprise-wide modernization, procurement, and sustainment efforts while individual program managers retain responsibility for specific platforms. Section 1802 of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act makes the Portfolio Acquisition Executive responsible for capability delivery across a portfolio as a whole, rather than just for milestone compliance on any single program.

The U.S. Air Force announced its first batch of five Portfolio Acquisition Executives in January for command, control, communications and battle management; fighters and advanced aircraft; nuclear command, control and communications; propulsion; and weapons. The Portfolio Acquisition Executives finalized in July include cyber and networks; bombers; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and special operations forces; intercontinental ballistic missiles; mobility; combat readiness; business and enterprise systems; training; electronic systems; services; presidential and executive airpower; and nuclear air delivered.

Col. John Dayton, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for ISR and special operations forces, said that roughly 85 percent of available contracting authorities within his organization are now delegated directly to him. He stated that pushing decision-making power to one Portfolio Acquisition Executive has demonstrated that the Air Force can field capabilities more quickly, with contract timelines being reduced by weeks or months.

"It was a combination of acquisition transformation and just the urgency of support to operations," Dayton said. He noted that the shift from program-by-program focus to enterprise-wide portfolio management allows for integrated strategies and faster decision-making.

Air Force acquisition official William Bailey addressed the scope of the changes at Air Force Life Cycle Industry Days. "This is a monumental step forward, but our work is not done. Pushing these critical decisions down to the PAE level demands a heightened commitment to delivering results and holding ourselves accountable."

Bailey added that the service must maintain momentum to support operational needs. "We must continue to be bold, to learn and to adapt — ensuring we provide our warfighters with the decisive edge they need when they need it," he said.

Colonel Timothy Spaulding, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for bombers, emphasized that the transition involves substantive operational changes rather than administrative relabeling. "If you wanted to be cynical, you could just say that we swapped the PEOs to PAEs and called it a day. That would be very, very incorrect. There’s a real change happening when we adopt the PAE mantle," Spaulding said.

Spaulding explained that the new structure aligns authorities with mission requirements. "The mission outcomes of the PAE are sustainment and modernization, so sometimes that requires giving us authorities we didn’t have before. Sometimes, it just means aligning authorities from somewhere else so that they are responsive to the [rapid acquisition authority]," he said.

The broader acquisition environment also saw adjustments through Executive Order 14275, signed in April 2025, which triggered the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul and expanded the legal operating space for contracting officers. The U.S. Space Force completed its transition to Portfolio Acquisition Executives in July with nine executives.

The Defense Secretary issued a directive in November 2025 launching the transition to a Warfighting Acquisition System with speed of capability delivery as the organizing principle. This directive further cemented the shift toward rapid capability fielding across the department.

Why It Matters

This reorganization shifts accountability from individual program milestones to entire mission portfolios, aiming to replace fragmented oversight with enterprise-wide modernization. By consolidating authority under 17 executives with cradle-to-grave responsibility, the Air Force seeks to reduce bureaucratic delays and accelerate capability delivery to warfighters. The change implements a Pentagon-wide directive prioritizing mission outcomes over process compliance, potentially altering how the defense industrial base competes for contracts.