The Air Force and Space Force spend more than $113.8 billion annually developing next-generation fighters, nuclear weapons, and missile defenses, yet history shows that too often these programs arrive late and over budget.
Senior leaders, including Department of the Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, recognize this as an unacceptable reality and are pressing for reform, calling this a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to reshape how we deliver capability. But while disruptive technologies matter, they are most effective when they are delivered to warfighters quickly.
While the Air Force and Space Force are pursuing the right technologies, it is program managers — the equivalent of project managers in industry — who make pivotal decisions that determine whether the force has capability in hand before the shooting starts. And that’s where real disruption can happen, by reconsidering how we prepare, train, and empower the program managers, who are the frontline people responsible for doing it.
From selecting the right contracts to building multiyear schedules to integrating with complex weapon systems, program manager judgment shapes programs for decades. As new portfolio models push more authority downward, true empowerment will depend on whether program managers have the professional training to use that authority effectively. If we want capability delivered at the speed deterrence demands, their preparation must reflect that responsibility.
As the department undertakes sweeping acquisition reforms, strengthening existing training with proven industry standards is one of the simplest ways to ensure those reforms translate into real-world performance.
History makes the stakes unmistakably clear.
Program managers helped ensure blast-resistant trucks were designed, built, and fielded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in under two years, saving countless lives. The GPS satellite modernization program improved accuracy and cut launch timelines from years to months. And partnerships like National Security Space Launch, built on commercial practices, show what happens when disciplined management and modern methods align: costs fall and timelines accelerate.
But other programs reveal the cost of poor execution. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program has struggled to contain per-unit cost, production schedules, and sustainment costs. The Air Force’s KC-46 fuel tanker, a backbone capability for power projection, continues to struggle with integration problems and production delays.
Looking ahead, the stakes will be even higher.
Space-based interceptors — specialized satellites designed to launch kinetic missiles against threats from orbit — would play a central role in defending the American homeland from hypersonic missiles and nuclear attack. They will demand unprecedented speed and precision, integrating cutting-edge sensors, interceptors, and command networks into a constellation operating at orbital velocity against threats. Experts all agree that the interceptor creates high-level challenges in sensing and targeting.
Improving training for program managers is a low-cost, high-return fix. And there are clear models to follow.
In the Air Force and Space Force, a common saying is that 80 to 90 percent of acquisition training happens “on the job” — a trial-and-error model that gambles program success on the maturity of the organization and sometimes luck. By contrast, organizations like NASA have built training programs directly traceable to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK), while the Army Corps of Engineers simply adopts industry certifications. The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, recognized worldwide, provides a common language and proven framework. While defense acquisition has unique complexities, the core disciplines of managing cost, schedule, and performance (i.e., scope) are universal.
Studies show companies with more than one-third of PMP-certified managers deliver more projects on time and within scope. Yet while the government pays contractors a premium for PMP-certified expertise, the Air Force and Space Force do not integrate or require the PMP in their training or career progression for servicemembers.
The Air Force and Space Force must close this gap by bringing training into alignment with industry standards, incorporating certification into advancement, and eventually favoring it for critical acquisition positions.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics should begin updating policy now to drive this shift. The Space Force, still building its professional development foundation, is especially well-positioned to lead. And at the department level, the Pentagon’s PMBoK extension — unchanged for more than two decades — must be modernized to reflect the demands of today’s agile, complex systems and the Secretary of War’s recent Acquisition Transformation Strategy. This change is not meant to replace existing training, but to strengthen it by aligning with proven industry standards.
Well-trained program managers are not a cure-all, but they are vital to ensuring the next generation of weapons arrives on time. This is especially important as more authority and risk move to lower levels. In an era where weeks can decide the outcome of war, the Air Force and Space Force cannot afford to leave this to chance.
Maj. Reed “Jimi” Schafer is a program manager in the U.S. Space Force. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Space Force or the Department of War.
