Beyond Barriers

In just one year, the DOW has delivered the most substantial transformation to its acquisition system in decades. The new Warfighting Acquisition System, backed by important legislative changes, accelerates delivery of capabilities and sustainment support to the warfighter, charts the way forward to rebuild the industrial base ecosystem, and empowers a streamlined Warfighting Acquisition Workforce to lead implementation with urgency. The Beyond Barriers Summit connects industry and government leaders to execute next steps in year two of this historic transformation.

In 2025, 57% of the acquisition community cited complex, inflexible processes as the leading barrier to progress. Has the landscape shifted? Hear what’s changed at Beyond Barriers, where our 2026 survey results will be announced.

Contact beyondbarriers@mitre.org for any questions regarding the summit.

Agenda

Day One: April 28, 2026

8:00 – 8:45 am	Registration and Breakfast
8:45 – 9:00 am	Welcome Remarks by MITRE Dr. Mark Peters, President & Chief Executive Officer, MITRE
9:00 – 9:20 am	Keynote Remarks: DOW Leadership Hon. Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (USW(A&S))
9:20 – 9:55 am	Fireside Chat with DOW Leadership Hon. Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Marin Halper, Vice President, DOW and Services Center, MITRE
9:55 – 10:00 am	Remarks: Acquisition Transformation Initiative Leigh Method, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Logistics
10:00 – 10:30 am	Fireside Chat with DOW Leadership Gen. Dale White, USAF, Director, Critical Major Weapon Systems Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
10:30 – 11:00 am	Fireside Chat with DOW Leadership Katie Schroth, Vice President, Air & Space Forces Center, MITRE
11:00 – 11:30 am	Networking Break
11:30 – 12:00 pm	State of DOW Acquisition Survey Results Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
12:00 – 1:00 pm	Networking Lunch
1:00 – 1:30 pm	Keynote Remarks: DOW Leadership James Ruocco, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of War for Acquisition
1:30 – 1:50 pm	Keynote Remarks: Industry Perspective Church Hutton, Chief Growth Officer, AeroVironment
1:50 – 2:30 pm	Panel: Rapidly Fielding Capabilities for our Warfighters Moderator: Maj. Gen. Edward Vaughan, USAF, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War, Acquisition Integration and Interoperability Margaret Boatner, Vice President, National Security Policy, AIA Dhruva Rajendra, CEO, Deterrence
2:30 – 3:00 pm	Networking Break
3:00 – 3:50 pm	Panel: International Cooperation to Expand the Industrial Base and Enable Burden-Sharing Moderator: Dr. LeAnne Howard, Senior Principal – National Security, MITRE Steve Casazza, President, Defense Trade Solutions Dak Hardwick, VP of International Affairs, AIA CAPT Tim Ketter, USN, Military Professor, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Joanne Lostracco, Director General, Defence Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
3:50 – 4:20 pm	Keynote Remarks
4:20 – 4:30 pm	Closing Remarks Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
4:30 – 6:00pm	Networking Reception & Lab Tours

Agenda subject to change

Day Two: April 29, 2026

8:00 – 9:00 am	Registration and Breakfast
9:00 – 9:05 am	Welcome Remarks Dr. Keoki Jackson, Senior Vice President, General Manager, MITRE National Security
9:05 – 9:30 am	Keynote Remarks
9:30 – 9:45 am	Day 1 Review and Acquisition Transformation Workshop Instructions
9:45 – 12:00 pm	Acquisition Transformation Workshops Workshop 1: Integrating Mission Engineering and Acquisition: Accelerating Data-Informed Capability Delivery Workshop 2: From PEO to PAE: Enabling Portfolio Decision-Making for Rapid Capability Delivery Workshop 3: Accelerate Private Capital Investment Workshop 4: Connecting Capabilities to Kill Chains with MOSA and Interoperability Workshop 5: Fixing the Broken Supply Chain Workshop 6: Aggregating Demand and Linking Global Supply Chains with Allies and Partners
12:00 – 12:45 pm	Networking Lunch
12:45 – 1:30 pm	Acquisition Transformation Workshops Finalize Recommendations
1:30 – 2:30 pm	Acquisition Transformation Workshop Readouts
2:30 – 2:45 pm	Break
2:45 – 3:45 pm	Pillar and Initiative Leads with Industry Q&A Pillar 1: Fuel the Arsenal of Freedom: Rebuild the Defense Industrial Base Pillar 2: Elevate and Empower the Acquisition Workforce to Rapidly Deliver Capability Pillar 3: Maximize Acquisition Flexibility through Reduced Regulations and Processes Pillar 4: Develop High Performance Systems through Rigorous Enterprise Technical and Execution Excellence Pillar 5: Improve Effective Lifecycle Risk Management
3:45 – 4:00 pm	Closing Remarks