On July 9, 2025, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a public notice requesting comments on how to strengthen the role of small businesses in the defense industrial base. The deadline for comments is August 8, 2025.

This request for comments is part of the DoD’s implementation of Executive Order 14265, Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base (E.O. 14265). This executive order declared that the policy of the federal government is to “accelerate defense procurement and revitalize the defense industrial base to restore peace through strength” by reforming the “defense acquisition processes with an emphasis on speed, flexibility, and execution.”

In the request for comments, the DoD affirmed its “commitment to reversing the decline of the numbers of small businesses in the defense industrial base by reducing barriers to entry and increasing the competition and innovation needed to provide the best systems, technologies, services, and products to support the Warfighter as outlined in the Department’s strategic small business plan.” In furtherance of that, the DoD is seeking comments:

To assist the Department to implement this E.O. and gain insight from industry on acquisition reform, revisions to DoD regulations that would improve relationships between the Department and small businesses, restructuring of the acquisition workforce to support incentivizing and rewarding risk-taking in innovation towards commercial solutions and streamlined acquisitions under the Adaptative Acquisition Framework, and the review of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System to streamline the acceleration of acquisitions.

The specific topics that the DoD is seeking comments from small businesses on are:

Acquisition Process Reform. Modernization of the current DoD acquisition process to accelerate procurement of advanced technologies, revitalize the defense industrial base, prioritize commercial solutions, streamline decision-making, and encourage innovation within the defense sector.

Regulations Review. Revisions to DoD regulations that would help relationships between the Department and small businesses.

Acquisition Workforce Reform. Restructuring of the acquisition workforce to support incentivizing and rewarding risk-taking in innovation towards commercial solutions and streamlined acquisitions under the Adaptative Acquisition Framework.

Requirements. Review of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System to streamline the acceleration of acquisitions.

The DoD notice also notes that small businesses will be able to submit confidential business information in support of their comments, so long as the commentator clearly identifies the confidential portion of the submission and files a statement justifying nondisclosure, including a reference to the legal authority upon which the claim to confidentiality is based, and provides a non-confidential version of the submission.

Given the significant changes that are being made to the federal acquisition process and structure, federal contractors who participate in the small business contracting programs with the DoD should consider submitting comments on ways the federal procurement process can be improved in regards to its utilization of small businesses.

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