We live in a fast paced world and behind the scenes the threats facing the defense sector are as real and dangerous as ever. While tech companies in the private sector have been getting lean and agile, moving fast, iterating, and learning from failure for years, a vast majority of our military continues to operates on long, rigid timelines that were designed for a distant era. That’s where Agile comes in. Agile is a mindset. Agile focuses on changing the way individuals, departments, and organizations work. It is about working in short cycles, constant communication and feedback early and often, and rapidly adjusting course as information becomes readily available. Rather than planning for every possible outcome up front, Agile teams use cross functional teams and an iterative process to build the most useful version of a tool or product, test it quickly, let it fail, figure out the issue and work to improve it based on its successes rather than its issues.

How does this pertain to defense? Right now, the battlefield is changing faster than the traditional acquisition cycle can keep up. By utilizing the antiquated five-year plan, by the time it gets approval, produced, and tested, the technology could already be outdated. Our peer adversaries are moving fast, adopting cutting-edge tech like AI and autonomous drones, and doing it with speed and agility. They’re producing with urgency. Agile allows operators to test tools sooner and helps developers fix issues before they grow into million or billion-dollar problems.

Most importantly, Agile isn’t just about speed. It’s about making sure the people who are actually using the systems have a voice in how they’re built. It’s about empowering small, cross-functional teams to solve real problems rather than waiting for top-down instructions. And yeah, it means letting go of some control, being okay with uncertainty, and trusting the process. That can be tough in a world that’s built on rules, rank, and predictability. But if done right, Agile can help the defense sector stay ahead, not just by building better tech, but by building it smarter and with the people who need it most.