Pentagon Scraps JCIDS to Speed Up Weapons Development

The Pentagon is dismantling its long-standing Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), returning the power to set requirements back to the individual military services in a bid to streamline the process and accelerate weapons development. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg ordered JCIDS “disestablished” within 120 days in an August 20 memo, marking the end of a 22-year system widely criticized as slow and bureaucratic.

Under the new structure, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council will no longer review every requirement but instead identify and rank key operational problems facing the joint force each year. A newly created Requirements and Resourcing Alignment Board (RRAB), co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will then analyze selected problems, guide programs, and recommend funding to accelerate promising solutions.

The move is designed to eliminate delays that have kept requirements languishing for years and to give acquisition officials and industry more flexibility. Services have 90 days to review their internal processes, prioritize requirements based on operational needs, and cut low-value reviews and documentation.

Military leaders and defense analysts have welcomed the shift, saying it could help the Department of Defense shed outdated processes and respond faster to emerging threats. However, experts caution that successful implementation will depend on maintaining strategic oversight and avoiding the pitfalls that caused JCIDS to stagnate, while also aligning with ongoing acquisition reforms being considered by Congress.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com