Breaking Barriers in Defense Acquisition
A summit for forward-thinking acquisition experts and leaders in defense and technology.
May 7-8, 2025
MITRE
7596 Colshire Drive
McLean, VA 22102
Registration
Day 1
Keynotes and panel sessions, open to government, industry, and media.
Register for Day 1
Day 2
Hands-on workshop sessions, invite only
Request to attend Days 1 & 2
Convened by and for Acquisition Leaders
Join senior defense and acquisition officials, industry experts, private capital funders, tech innovators, agile defense suppliers, congressional thought leaders, policymakers, think tanks, and media representatives.
Together, we will craft a roadmap for a transformative acquisition ecosystem—built for speed, innovation, and warfighter effectiveness.
About the Summit
The event offers the opportunity for government and industry stakeholders to spearhead recommendations for capability-driven acquisition pathways, software-intensive systems for increased lethality, acceleration of autonomous solutions, scaling commercial innovation, and fostering a thriving Allied industrial base. Objectives include:
- Invest in capabilities for priority threat scenarios to improve mission performance
- Leverage Mission Engineering to increase mission success
- Lower barriers to entry for industry—and engage continuously to evolve solutions
- Expedite transitioning proposed solutions to working prototypes
- Leverage experimentation results to drive rapid deployment to operational environments
- Empower an integrated government-industry team to align development efforts
- Accelerate fielding of commercial solutions
- Address U.S. supply-chain and manufacturing challenges to ensure efficient production
- Enable rapid integration of legacy and new systems
- Improve workforce skills for rapid acquisition
Pricing
- Standard Price (Industry): $850
- Federal Government Price: Waived
Agenda
Day 1 (Open to Media)
Participants will be immersed in a full day of keynotes, panels, and debate.
Expect a call to action from industry and government voices tackling acquisition’s toughest challenges.
Results released from inaugural survey on the state of defense acquisition.
Attendees can tour MITRE’s cutting-edge research and technology labs.
Day 2 (Chatham House Rule)
Participants will engage in focused, concurrent workshops to deliver recommendations for:
- Capability-driven acquisition pathways
- Software-intensive systems for increased lethality
- Rapid acquisition for autonomous systems
- Scaled commercial manufacturing innovation
- Creating a thriving Allied Industrial Base
Participants will be immersed in a full day of keynotes, panels, and debate.
Expect a call to action from industry and government voices tackling acquisition’s toughest challenges.
Results released from inaugural survey on the state of defense acquisition.
Attendees can tour MITRE’s cutting-edge research and technology labs.
Participants will engage in focused, concurrent workshops to deliver recommendations for:
- Capability-driven acquisition pathways
- Software-intensive systems for increased lethality
- Rapid acquisition for autonomous systems
- Scaled commercial manufacturing innovation
- Creating a thriving Allied Industrial Base
MITRE Team
Dana (Keoki) Jackson, Sc.D.
Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
Dan Ward
Defense Acquisition Innovator
Allison Reardon
Industry Engagement
Survey
Invitation to Participate
We invite you to participate in a brief survey on the state of defense acquisition as part of the Breaking Barriers Defense Acquisition Summit. Your input is critical to evaluating whether defense acquisition processes are evolving in terms of speed, responsiveness, and the quality of capabilities delivered, as well as identifying areas that require improvement. The survey takes approximately 6 minutes to complete. Your responses will remain anonymous unless you choose to provide identifiable information.
