2025 brought a wave of changes to the Pentagon as it transitioned from the Biden administration to President Donald Trump’s leadership. MeriTalk tracked the department’s tech-focused agenda, which spanned workforce reductions, cybersecurity overhauls, drone dominance and ambitious missile defense programs.
Here’s a recap of the top developments at the Department of Defense (DOD) – which the Trump administration rebranded this year as the Department of War.
Civilian workforce, IT program cuts
The Trump administration moved quickly this year to shrink the federal civilian workforce, and the Defense Department was no exception.
The DOD laid out a broad plan to cut 5% to 8% of its nearly 900,000 civilian employees, targeting a reduction of roughly 50,000 to 60,000 positions. By March, about 21,000 workers had left voluntarily under the Deferred Resignation Program, which offers an eight-month paid transition period. The department has not released updated figures showing how close it is to its overall reduction goal.
Alongside workforce cuts, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a series of high-profile program and contract cancellations aimed at curbing IT spending.
The biggest came in an April 10 memo, where Hegseth directed the termination of multiple IT services contracts worth a combined $4.2 billion and told the Pentagon’s chief information officer (CIO) to work with the Department of Government Efficiency on a plan to bring more IT work in-house using existing civilian staff.
CIO shake-up and cybersecurity changes
Acting Pentagon CIO Katie Arrington emerged this year as a central figure in the department’s technology and cybersecurity overhaul.
The first of those changes was the Software Fast Track (SWFT) initiative, a new framework designed to streamline software approvals and evaluate applications across 12 risk characteristics, including cybersecurity and financial operations.
Arrington also drew attention with her stated goal to “blow up the RMF,” signaling a push to replace the Risk Management Framework (RMF) with a faster, more adaptive approach.
That effort resulted in the Cybersecurity Risk Management Construct, which introduces a five-phase lifecycle – Design, Build, Test, Onboard and Operations – built around automation, continuous monitoring, and DevSecOps principles.
Arrington also unveiled Mission Network-as-a-Service, an initiative to consolidate 17 classified networks into a single secure system.
One of the most consequential changes for industry came with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) becoming law. CMMC will require defense contractors to meet cybersecurity standards based on the sensitivity of the data they handle. Phase one began on Nov. 10, 2025, with self-assessments, followed by phased certification requirements from 2026 through 2028.
Golden Dome
The Trump administration launched the Golden Dome program – initially named Iron Dome – this year, a missile defense effort aimed at countering emerging hypersonic threats. The initiative received $25 billion in initial funding, with total costs projected to reach $175 billion by 2028.
The program has drawn skepticism from Democrats, who have questioned its price tag, schedule, and overall objectives. Gen. Michael Guetlein, who is overseeing Golden Dome, is drafting a formal blueprint intended to clarify those issues, though no detailed plan has been released so far.
Even as those questions persist, some acquisition activity is already underway. The Missile Defense Agency selected 1,014 companies for its SHIELD contracting vehicle, designed to accelerate development of artificial intelligence, digital engineering, and open systems capabilities tied to Golden Dome. A separate contracting pathway, the Multiple Authority Announcement, will support work on kinetic and non-kinetic defenses, space-based capabilities, and electronic warfare.
Hegseth’s sweeping acquisition overhaul
Later in the year, Hegseth introduced sweeping acquisition reforms aimed at accelerating how weapons move from concept to the battlefield. Much of the plan mirrors an executive order Trump signed in April to reshape federal acquisition processes.
The reforms would convert the Defense Acquisition System into what the department calls the Warfighting Acquisition System, overhaul the Joint Requirements Process, and unify arms transfer and security cooperation efforts.
Workforce changes are a key part of the effort. Program executive offices will be reorganized into Portfolio Acquisition Executives, with direct authority over major weapons portfolios and responsibility for results. The Pentagon will also introduce portfolio scorecards to track how quickly weapons reach warfighters.
A new Wartime Production Unit, succeeding the Joint Production Acceleration Cell, will be staffed by experienced operators and former industry executives. Its “deal team” will negotiate directly with vendors and structure incentives to speed delivery.
The department also plans to eliminate the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System, ending the Pentagon’s traditional requirements validation process.
Drones, tech priorities and legislation
Drones became a key focus for the DOD this year, driving efforts to both expand the arsenal and improve defenses against unmanned threats.
Hegseth ordered a fast-tracked expansion of U.S. drone capabilities, pushing procurement authority to frontline units and emphasizing domestically produced systems. Units were encouraged to integrate drones into training and combat exercises to overcome what the memo described as bureaucratic risk aversion.
At the same time, Hegseth directed the creation of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 to lead the Pentagon’s counter-drone efforts, replacing the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office. The task force will be stood up by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and report to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg.
The Pentagon also narrowed its list of critical technology areas from 14 to six, prioritizing applied artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, contested logistics, quantum and battlefield information dominance, scaled directed energy, and hypersonics.
On Capitol Hill, Trump signed the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act into law, authorizing $900.6 billion in defense spending. The legislation codifies acquisition reforms, strengthens cybersecurity across the defense industrial base, expands drone programs, and provides a 3.8% pay raise for service members.