By Paul Maguire, CEO & Co-Founder, Knowmadics
It’s still a draft, not law yet, but the direction is unmistakable. The Department’s Warfighting Acquisition System (WAS) memorandum formalizes what many have anticipated: time to field is now the critical measure of success.
At Knowmadics, we have been operating with that focus from day one. Our work through OTAs, SBIR, STRATFI, and TACFI programs centers on rapid prototyping, agile teams, and direct engagement with operational users. The new framework shortens decision chains, accelerates awards, and rewards adaptability, areas where we already thrive.
Time as Strategy
The WAS framework replaces slow, compliance-heavy acquisition methods with accountable Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs), outcome-based incentives, and modular open architectures. It emphasizes timely delivery, healthy competition, and practical innovation across the defense industrial base.
For Knowmadics, this confirms what has guided our approach from the start. In our earlier piece, Beyond “Butts in Seats”: Why Outcomes-Based Contracting Is the Future, we argued that defense programs must measure results rather than effort. The WAS memo echoes that thinking, placing delivery timelines ahead of administrative compliance.
Similarly, The Power of OTAs in National Security examined how flexible contracting pathways bring new technology to the field faster. Those pathways, once considered experimental, now sit at the center of the WAS model. And in DoD Software Acquisition Reform, we explained how iterative software delivery can outperform rigid development cycles, a method now embedded in the new acquisition structure.
Where Knowmadics Leads
Knowmadics delivers where large, traditional primes cannot move quickly enough.
Our advantage lies in integrating operator experience, human-centered design, and explainable AI into a single adaptive platform that connects directly with existing systems. While legacy providers rely on proprietary hardware and lengthy acquisition timelines, Knowmadics delivers mission-ready capabilities designed to evolve alongside emerging threats.
We align closely with DoD rapid innovation programs, using RDT&E contracts to test and refine new capabilities in active operational settings. Each iteration directly informs our product evolution, shortening the distance between prototype and deployment. Through collaboration with government and commercial partners and continued participation in non-traditional acquisition pathways including OTAs, SBIR, TACFI, and consortia programs, Knowmadics advances iterative capability delivery within the evolving WAS structure.
Our ongoing Golden Dome and other defense initiatives are structured around this shift, aligning not only with the memo’s requirements but with its purpose: decisive delivery, measurable accountability, and operational relevance.
A Rally for Speed and Support
The WAS represents more than policy reform; it is a commitment to every operator who depends on timely, reliable technology. This initiative deserves unified support across government, industry, and academia.
We share the same goal: to move capability from concept to field deployment before the next threat materializes. That means cutting review cycles, accelerating test approvals, and investing in production capacity early, not later.
At Knowmadics, we are ready to contribute, to collaborate, and to move faster, because delay has a cost measured not in dollars, but in readiness.
Let us treat speed as a matter of national defense, not convenience. Let us make time-to-field the measure of success. Let us do it together and turn this policy into practice. Connect with us to help make time-to-field the standard for every program.
