Last year, I released two plans forreformingthemilitary.Thefirst, 21st Century Peace through Strength, focused ontheneed for additional defense funding to produce whattheU.S. militaryneedsto keepthepeace.Thesecond, Restoring Freedoms Forge, outlined a plan to change fundamentallythePentagons business processes away from a Soviet-style bureaucratic mess to a modern process that rewards commercial innovation and fosters competition.Fortunately, President Donald Trump campaigned on boththese issues. He promised a defense spending boost, and we are well on our way afterthe$150 billion military infusion included inthereconciliation bill. Andthepresident promised to pursue wholesalePentagonreform, getting rid of red tape and instead freeing our innovators to build weapons better, faster and at lower cost.In Congress, we recognize that we have no time to waste. TheSenateArmedServicesCommittee recently voted overwhelmingly (26-1) to advance Congress annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill containsthemost significantreforms tothePentagons weapons-buying process in generations.ARMY UNVEILS MODERNIZATION PLAN BECAUSE, NO LOBBYIST EVER WON A WAR'For decades, we have paid defense companies to develop weapons primarily with taxpayer money. While this process will still be necessary for some systems,there are thousands of innovative companies who are developing weapons using private capital. This bill is written to encourage acquisition by those companies, who are often outpacingthePentagons processes by years.We have also spent many years under a broken weapons buying process. At dozens of stages, officials can say "No" and slow programs down. As it stands, program managers decide what to buy but shortlythereafter lose authority overtheprocess. Fromthere, contracting officers under a separate reporting structure can take 18 months to run a compliance-based process. This NDAA would create portfolio acquisition executives who are empowered to make decisions, take risk andthen be held accountable for decisions.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONFor decades, we have levied a crazy, years-long bureaucratic process to qualify new parts and types of weapons for military use. That process rewardsthestatus quo and severely discourages competition. This bill will create a new streamlined process for qualification, pairing it with a new $1 billion fund fromthereconciliation bill. Taken together, we will dramatically improve competition atthePentagonand protect against price-gouging.TheUnited States has a legacy of building some ofthemost advanced munitions intheworld.Thetrack records of our GMLRS surface-to-surface missiles and Patriot air defense interceptors are undeniable. But not every one of our weaponsneedsto be "exquisite," a term of art for systems that are sophisticated, intricate and difficult to build. Instead, we are providing nearly $5 billion in defense reconciliation for new lower-cost munitions, many of which will be produced through advanced manufacturing.We are living inthemost dangerous moment since World War II. To enable an American-led 21st century, we need a military and a defense industrial base capable of maintainingthepeace.Thedefense reconciliation bill made a big bet on American innovation, andtheSenates 2026 NDAA introduces fundamentalPentagonreforms. With both, we can achieve a generational rebuilding oftheU.S. military.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. ROGER WICKER