Outdated acquisition rules—not technology—are stalling US innovation; FAR reform is essential to close the defense “Valley of Death.”
The whirlwind Iran-Israel conflict brings into focus a phrase often used in the defense world with equal parts frustration and resignation: the “Valley of Death.” It refers to the dangerous gap between promising innovation and real-world deployment. This is where breakthrough technologies get stuck in bureaucratic limbo—and where too many small businesses, despite mission potential and early success, fail to graduate from prototype to production. It’s not just ideas that stall—it’s companies.
It’s a policy problem, not a technology one. The innovation is real, and the tools exist. What’s lagging is the system we’ve built to deliver them—namely, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). And it hasn’t kept pace with the speed of modern warfare or the demands of 21st-century innovation.
At MetroStar, we’ve lived through this challenge. We’ve built successful bridges across the Valley of Death, but it shouldn’t take extraordinary effort to do so. Our story shouldn’t be the exception.
The challenges are not theoretical. They impact how fast America modernizes, how effectively it protects, and whether service members will operate confidently as a ready and lethal force. With the United States unable to stop tensions around the world from boiling over, transformation can’t wait.
Recognition Is Growing, and Momentum for Reform Is Building
The Pentagon has acknowledged the problem. In July 2023, the Defense Innovation Board warned that outdated acquisition practices stifled innovation and created dangerous vulnerabilities: “The need for reform is immediate,” the board’s report stated. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) echoed this urgency in back-to-back reports from June and December 2024, pointing to unacceptably long wait times, policy bottlenecks, and an acquisition system that is alarmingly slow in delivering new capabilities.
President Donald Trump has taken the most significant steps in decades to modernize the federal acquisition process. Through two recent executive orders, he launched the first comprehensive overhaul of the FAR in US history, directing agencies to prioritize speed, flexibility, and execution. This effort aims to strip away outdated bureaucracy and realign acquisition with the pace of today’s mission demands.
FAR reform must be paired with legislative reform. We can’t keep overcomplicating the categorization of government funds, termed the “color of money,” by the Department of Defense. Wars won’t wait as America debates funding colors. If FAR 2.0 is going to succeed, it must be supported by appropriations and budgeting changes that prioritize mission speed over administrative roadblocks.
FAR 2.0 Must Be Simple, Mission-Focused, and Fully Supported
The President’s directive is clear: The FAR must return to its statutory roots, rewritten in plain language, stripped of non-statutory burdens, and restructured to prioritize simplicity, usability, and mission impact. Now, it’s up to the Office of Management and Budget, the FAR Council, agency leaders, Congress to align policy and legislative reform, and private sector partners to help shape a procurement system that is as agile and innovative as the missions it supports.
But regulatory reform alone isn’t enough. For FAR 2.0 to succeed, the government must also invest in a new generation of talented, technically fluent leaders who can hold vendors accountable the way top-tier tech companies manage product teams. One former senior defense acquisition leader recently told me, “Much of this is already in place; we just don’t have project managers to execute this way.” He expressed frustration with ineffective government contracting methods because poorly scoped contracts and weak vendor oversight have eroded trust. Reforming the system must also mean professionalizing it, with better program leadership and realistic performance expectations that turn good intentions into great outcomes.
America also needs to reimagine the relationship between the federal government and innovators. Too often, small and mid-sized tech companies are treated like outsiders, forced to navigate a maze of forms, certifications, and outdated templates just for a chance to compete for contracts. It’s no wonder so many give up before reaching the end of the FAR process.
Instead of standing in the way of progress, America should focus on guiding it. Instead of avoiding all risks, leaders should manage them wisely. And instead of sticking with the status quo, the United States should learn from past challenges to adapt and move faster.
Modernizing Procurement Is a National Security Imperative
FAR reform offers a rare opportunity to make meaningful changes, not by weakening oversight but by clarifying and streamlining how the system works. Modernizing procurement language, removing unnecessary rules, and allowing contracting officers to act with urgency will help close the gap between innovative ideas and real-world impact.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Having recently been drawn into a hard-to-curb conflict between Iran and Israel, one of its closest allies, the American government can’t afford a procurement system that delays, or worse, thwarts innovation. America’s defense edge depends on how much we spend and how effectively we spend it.
The Valley of Death won’t be solved with another study—it demands a new strategy built on flexibility, partnership, and execution.
Let’s move faster. Let’s build smarter. And let’s ensure the systems meant to protect our future are equipped to keep up with it.
About the Author: Ali Reza Manouchehri
Ali Reza Manouchehri is the Iranian-born CEO and co-founder of MetroStar, an AI-enabled services and software company headquartered in Reston, Virginia. He lived through the Fall of the Shah, which refers to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Image: Shutterstock
