The US Department of the Navy (DoN) has established five Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) organisations as part of a shift to a new acquisition structure.
The newly established PAEs include Industrial Operations, Marine Corps, Maritime, Strategic Systems Programs, and Undersea.
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Vice admiral James P. Downey will lead PAE Industrial Operations, lieutenant general Eric Austin will head PAE Marine Corps, and Christopher Miller will oversee PAE Maritime.
Vice admiral Johnny Wolfe and vice admiral Robert Gaucher will head the PAE / DPRM Strategic Systems Programs and PAE Undersea / DRPM Submarines, respectively.
The department has assigned these officials as interim Portfolio Acquisition Executives with full responsibility over their respective portfolios, including associated technical, contracting, and sustainment functions.
According to a US Navy statement, the changes align with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s directive to shift towards a warfighting-focused acquisition system and with Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan’s Golden Fleet initiative, which aims to overhaul how the Navy does business to improve accountability and performance.
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By GlobalDataJohn C. Phelan said: “In a time where our warfighters are on the frontline and the nature of warfare is changing at a rapid pace, the Department of the Navy needs a warfighting acquisition system that better responds to those at the tip of the spear.
“Every acquisition decision ties directly to deterrence, and if deterrence fails, decisive victory. With the establishment of PAEs, we are instilling a war-fighting mindset to accelerate delivery to the fight.”
Within the PAE model, leaders are expected to make “disciplined, data-driven trade-offs” between cost, schedule, and performance, while maintaining a primary focus on reducing time to field.
According to the statement, these reforms will build warfighting-focused acquisition system that matches authority with responsibility, cuts unnecessary bureaucracy, empowers programme managers, and delivers capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps quickly and at scale.
Each PAE will operate with a dedicated Rapid Capability Cell connected to the Department’s Rapid Capabilities Office. These units aim to adopt commercial technology rapidly, conduct fast prototyping activities, and respond quickly when urgent operational requirements arise.
Vice admiral Seiko Okano said: “Each PAE will operate with a digital first mind-set – we will align on data and eliminate non-value-added layers of programme reviews and bureaucracy to identify risks earlier and enable faster and more informed decision making.”
Ongoing transition efforts are underway in aviation, industrial infrastructure, mission systems, and munitions programmes. The department will announce further developments as they are formalised.
