PAE MS 101 CAF Brief FINAL.pdf

PAE MS Capabilities Alignment Forum August 26, 2026

Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release. Distribution unlimited. (26 August 2026)

• On Nov. 7, 2025, the Warfighting Acquisition System replaced the legacy Defense Acquisition System.

• Fragmented, complex processes posed intolerable operational risks to the warfighter.

• Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs) were established by this landmark directive to eliminate these risks and streamline capability delivery.

Our Mandate Replacing Legacy Acquisition

To answer this mandate, we are building an enterprise anchored by a singular warfighting identity.

Our Identity Defining Mission and Vision

Our Mission: Forging decisive combat power by unifying Naval acquisition to rapidly deliver superior information and warfare capabilities.

Our Vision: Delivering integrated lethality at speed.

Our Slogan: Trusted by the warfighter. Driven by the threat. Delivered at speed.

To deliver on this mission, we operate under a dedicated, warfighter-obsessed culture.

Our Philosophy Driving Outcomes Through Program Managers

Warfighter-Obsessed We are a mission-focused enterprise measuring success solely by operational outcomes.

The needs of our Sailors and Marines remain our only North Star.

PM as the Supported Commander

We inverted the leadership pyramid. The enterprise exists to support Program Managers, providing them with clear direction, expert services, and empowered autonomy.

Velocity by Design We are built for speed. By streamlining processes and driving decisions to the lowest level, we foster a culture of psychological safety that unleashes our people to innovate without fear.

Executing this philosophy at scale requires a strategic, coast-to-coast operational footprint.

Our Scale: Operating at Strategic Capacity

Programs of Record 200+ active programs managed globally

Workforce ~1,700 CIV/MIL billets

Footprint Headquartered in Washington, DC with operational offices on the East and West Coasts

To convert this national footprint into a high-velocity warfighting engine, we are changing the way we think and changing our historical PEO organizational framework into capability portfolios to deliver end to end mission threads.

UNIFIED SCOPE

We are merging once-fragmented programs under unified leadership.

PAE MS aims to:

• Deliver C6I readiness

• Optimize the business of the

DON

• Establish a common architecture

• Deliver capabilities at speed

• Enable decision superiority

• Foster leadership and talent stewardship

TRANSITION IMPACT

This is a phased transition from siloed Program Executive Offices to a shared Portfolio Acquisition Executive Mission Systems structure.

PAE MS is committed to:

• Operational Continuity

• National Talent Preservation

• Institutionalized Innovation

• Accelerated Fleet Delivery

Our Impact: Unifying Portfolios for Operational Agility

We are the integrator of the Navy and work across PAE’s to deliver mission capability to our Sailors and Marines.

ASN (RD&A)

PAE

Deputy PAE/NAVWAR Commander.

Chief of Staff Operations Director

Chief Financial Officer.

Director Mission Engineering &

Naval Warfighting Integration

Director of Rapid Capability Cell

Director Naval Industrial Base

Operations Chief Engineer

Director Planning, Activation, and

Readiness

Director Integration Platform & Weapons

Chief Information & Technology

Officer

Director of Contracts

Chief People Officer

Chief Strategic Comms/Public Affairs

Front Office Staff

CPE Digital Infrastructure & Services

CPE Warfighter Enterprise Business Systems

CPE Naval Intel, C2, Cyber, & IO

CPE Sensors, PNT, EW, & Comms

CPE Combat Systems & Fires

EA –

Protocol:

Requirements

SECNAV OPNAV/HQMC TYCOMs/MEFs

Our Structure

Our Alignment: Integrating Our Strategic Framework

To understand how this alignment operates, we begin by looking at our four Lines of Effort anchoring our foundation.

LOE 1

Common

MOSA

Architecture

LOE 2

Common Cloud

& Transport Architecture

LOE 3

Software-

Defined Navy

LOE 4

Workforce Excellence

Campaign 5 Tradecraft

Campaign 3 On-Time Delivery

Campaign 1 Sailor-Self Sufficiency

Campaign 2 Wartime

Readiness

Campaign 4 Engineering Capability

Wholeness

Our Objectives: Advancing Core Lines of Effort

LOE 2

Common Cloud & Transport

Architecture

Enabling secure, resilient, and mission-speed data movement across the enterprise.

LOE 1

Common MOSA Architecture

Establishing a modular, open foundation for rapid integration and system interoperability.

LOE 4

Workforce Excellence

Building the technical expertise and culture required to operate a modern digital force.

LOE 3

Software-Defined Navy

Accelerating delivery by shifting from hardware-centric systems to adaptable, software-driven solutions.

Delivering on these four objectives requires an all-hands-on-deck effort, driven and enabled by our five Strategic Campaigns.

Our Enablers: Executing Strategic Campaigns

Executing these cross-functional campaigns demands a specialized backbone to engineer a true system-of-systems architecture.

Campaign 1

Sailor-Self Sufficiency

Reducing onboard technical assists by integrating automated, site-specific procedures and training.

Campaign 2

Wartime Readiness

Ensuring all surge-ready platforms are mission-capable via proactive monitoring and integrated Fleet support.

Campaign 3

On-Time Delivery

Accelerating the end-to-end modernization cycle to consistently deliver training-ready gear ahead of need.

Campaign 4

Engineering Capability

Wholeness Accelerating decisions and deliveries through interlocking engineering, cyber, and architecture value streams.

Campaign 5

Tradecraft Elevating cross-functional mastery across the enterprise to maximize warfighting outcomes.

Our Enabling Functions

Engineering Directorates

Mission Engineering

Drives end-to-end technical design and engineers individual programs into comprehensive, unified combat systems (Kill Chain Integrity).

Planning, Activation & Readiness

Bridges procurement with operational deployment, lifecycle logistics, and predictive fleet readiness.

Platform & Weapons

Integration Closes technical seams across acquisition pathways and delivers cyber-survivable, integrated weapons systems across the platform lifecycle.

Enabled by this integrated backbone, our Capability Portfolio Executives are unleashed to modernize and field the Fleet's most critical systems.

Our Domains: Empowering Capability Portfolio Executives

Sensors, PNT, EW & Comms (SPECS)

Guaranteeing resilient networks and fleet-wide awareness in complex electromagnetic environments.

Combat Systems & Fires (CSF)

Integrating the complete kill chain—from target detection to weapons engagement.

Warfighter Business Systems

(WEBS)

Leveraging commercial acquisition to modernize HR/IT systems, sustaining global logistics and training.

Naval Intel, C2, Cyber & IO (NIC³IO)

Providing sensing, C2, and cyber defense for joint battlespace decision superiority.

Digital Infrastructure &

Services (DIS) Transitioning to standardized, software-defined architectures via secure cloud and robust networking.

These domains provide the capability and equipment the fleet will use today and tomorrow.

Our Tech Investment Horizons Accelerating Solutions from Prototypes to Cattle Drive

So lu tio ns

L an ds ca pe

But fast innovation only works if we have the Naval Adaptive Cloud Architecture ready to receive it.

Our Naval Adaptive Cloud Architecture The Naval Adaptive Cloud Architecture (NACA) integrates and evolves capabilities at the speed of the threat. We are building the systems, teams, and decision processes that allow industry to rapidly plug modular capabilities directly into the mission.

This cloud-edge capability only works if we enforce strict open engineering standards.

NACA CONNECTS 4 AREAS

Not just meeting today’s threshold, but continuing to learn, integrate, and improve after fielding.

• Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA)

• Common Cloud & Transport (via Enterprise Services)

• Software-Defined Naval Force

• Human Talent Required to Integrate p

HOW YOU CAN PREPARE

Modern Service Delivery provide common design concepts and technical focus initiatives.

Design Concepts

• Composable by Default

• Zero Trust Always

• Cloud-Native & Edge- Ready

• Automate Everything by Default

• Use before Rent, Rent before Buy, Buy before Build

Technical Focus Units

• Enabling AI

• Unified Endpoints

• Zero Trust

• Data as a Product

Our Modular Open Systems Approach To break vendor lock-in, we are mandating a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). This unified technical standard replaces proprietary silos with open, competitive modules.

Now that our open foundation is set, here are our exact priorities.

Our Priorities How Industry Can Get Involved

We have the pathways ready—we just need your solutions.

PRIORITY TECHNOLOGIES

• Applied AI & Cognitive Computing

• Quantum Information Science

• Advanced Networking & Data Transport

• Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) Technology

• Digital Engineering & Interoperability

PRIORITY EFFECTS

• Long Range Fires

• Counter-C5ISRT (C-C5ISRT)

• Sea Control/Sea Denial

• Expeditionary

• Nuclear C3 – Navy (NC3-N)

• Resilient C3 (RC3)

• Fight from the MOC (FFTM)

• Electronic Warfare

• Cyber Warfare, Operations, and Security

• Business Ops & Readiness

Resourced Pathways

• Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT)

• Commercial Solution Offerings (CSO)

• Other Transactional Agreements (OTA)

• Private Equity (PE)

• Small Business Innovation

Research (SBIR)

• Small Business Technology

Transfer (STRR)

• Venture Capital (VC)

Government Technology Partners

• Defensive Innovation Unit

(DIU)

• In-Q-Tel (IQT)

• Office of Naval Research

(ONR)

• Rapid Capability Cells (RCC)

• Strategic Capabilities Office

(SCO)

WAYS TO ENGAGE

Our Call to Action Powering the future

Help us with our warfighter obsession.

We want your solutions. Your emerging technologies and modern architectures increase mission profit by driving smarter decisions, faster integration, and stronger warfighter outcomes.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE

We believe in taking action early and fast.

Provide your solution directly to PAE MS.

www.missionsystems.navy.mil/industry/ https://www.missionsystems.navy.mil/industry/