Navy Advances Acquisition Reform Strategy: Appoints Three New Portfolio Acquisition Executives
From the Department of the Navy Office of Information, May 11, 2026
WASHINGTON – The Department of the Navy today announced the establishment of three additional Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) organizations: PAE Aviation, PAE Mission Systems and PAE Munitions. With these directives, the Navy continues foundational acquisition reforms focused on accelerating delivery of capability to the fleet.
“The needs of the warfighter demand that our acquisition system move faster in order to outpace the threat,” said Jason Potter, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RDA). “The establishment of these PAEs today will accelerate acquisition efforts in three key portfolios.”
The Department of the Navy has designated three senior acquisition leaders as the interim PAEs:
- PAE Aviation: Vice Adm. John Dougherty
- PAE Mission Systems: Mr. Jim Day
- PAE Munitions: Mr. Paul Mann
“We are empowering these officials to move out and deliver for the fleet,” Potter said. “With these authorities, we are removing barriers that slowed down capability delivery. We are also doing away with fragmented accountability. Each PAE is accountable for mission outcomes across their entire portfolio.”
The PAE represents a significant evolution of the previous Program Executive Officer (PEO) construct, with PAEs possessing broader scope and authority. PAEs are responsible for an entire portfolio of like programs and will have direct authority not only for program offices, but also over associated technical, contracting and sustainment functions. Approximately 70 percent of these functions and associated personnel will move from systems commands (SYSCOMs) into the PAEs.
“This is not just a name change, but a critical step toward streamlining and simplifying the Navy’s acquisition process,” said Adm. Jim Kilby, Vice Chief of Naval Operations. “The three new PAEs are designed to align authority and accountability, reduce process overhead, equip program managers to execute more effectively, and deliver operational capability to the Navy and Marine Corps with speed and scale.”
“We are fully committed to getting Marines what they need with the speed and flexibility demanded by the modern security environment,” said Gen. Bradford J. Gering, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. “We have empowered our PAEs with broad authorities and cradle-to-grave oversight of portfolios. This combination will eliminate obstacles and accelerate the delivery of capabilities to our Marines at the speed of relevance.”
The establishment of PAE Aviation, PAE Mission Systems and PAE Munitions brings the total of Department of the Navy PAEs to nine, joining PAEs for Robotic and Autonomous Systems, Maritime, Industrial Operations, Marine Corps, Strategic Systems Programs, and Undersea.