Building for the 10 Day Challenge

The future of war will be long, technical, and unforgiving. It won’t be decided by a single breakthrough system but by how quickly one side can field networks of AI-enabled systems, autonomous robots, software-driven decision tools, and modern weapons that constantly adapt to changing threats. And how quickly one side can adapt those systems to dynamic battlefield environments.

The teams that build these capabilities won’t come from the traditional defense industry; they’ll be born out of technology companies in Silicon Valley, many of which have never worked with the Department of War (DOW).

When the United States inevitably mobilizes again, every capable technology company will need to contribute. They will rapidly deliver AI into weapons and other hardware for the fight. The way that process becomes an American competitive advantage is through a reformed acquisition system that allows the government to move fast, integrate quickly, and scale solutions into the field in the same manner technology companies do in the commercial market.

Ukraine shows us what’s at stake: competitive advantage comes from being nimble in both technology and acquisition. And while the next battlefield may not resemble Ukraine, America has to learn the lesson that tempo to fielding software and hardware will be what turns the tide in conflict.

We recently proved how this works. Earlier this year, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George asked our team to make an Infantry Squad Vehicle fully autonomous in just 10 days. We did it, and within weeks soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were using the autonomous ISV in live training missions. The soldiers, with our engineering team at their side, conducted live operations in the field and iterated quickly, becoming more effective each day. Together, we proved innovating on combat systems in the field can be fast and effective.

Speed is Silicon Valley’s edge, and the Army is taking steps to bring it to the field. The service is in the process of overhauling its acquisition system to adopt Silicon Valley’s playbook. If done right, a new acquisition approach can give hundreds of nontraditional companies the chance to deliver warfighter outcomes in similar 10 day challenges. But the opportunity in front of us is bigger than one program or one vehicle. The question is whether the Army and the rest of the DOW can also scale this agility in the fight.

How do we get there? First, every program office should operate like the Defense Innovation Unit, with both prototyping and scaling funds. DIU succeeds because it keeps going by seamlessly connecting prototype to production: once a prototype shows value, it doesn’t send the company back to square one with a lengthy Request for Proposal process. Instead, it doubles down and scales what works. Soldiers—not paperwork—decide what’s valuable. When soldiers in the field prove a capability works and improves outcomes, it should automatically unlock the next stage of investment.

Next, the DOW must shift from a requirements-driven process to a value-driven process. In Silicon Valley, companies don’t advance from Series A to Series B because of rigid requirements; they advance because they demonstrate value to customers and investors.

DOW programs of record should evolve the same way: each stage of proven value should unlock more resources and more fielding. A requirements-driven system defines the end state before anyone tests a prototype, but a value-driven system rewards iteration and real outcomes. This is how Silicon Valley builds enduring companies and how the DOW can build enduring capabilities.

If we want to win the wars of the future, acquisition must work like an investment: rapid, iterative, and relentlessly focused on delivering value to the end user – the uniformed warfighter. The 10 Day Challenge should be a rallying cry, and, more importantly, the foundation of every acquisition framework in the DOW. Winning will depend on it.