New Pentagon program to speed up software acquisition set to launch May 1

The Defense Department’s chief information officer will kick off a new program this week that aims to overhaul cumbersome bureaucratic mechanisms and streamline its ability to rapidly approve new software capabilities for warfighters.

Under the Software Fast Track (SWIFT) program, the Pentagon will use artificial intelligence to replace legacy authority to operate (ATO) and Risk Management Framework (RMF) processes when buying new software. Acting DOD CIO Katie Arrington signed a memo authorizing the new effort, and it will officially launch May 1, she said.

“We need to change our thought process, because having software in an ATO that is a static environment doesn’t help the warfighter,” Arrington said Tuesday during a keynote at the UiPath on Tour Public Sector event, produced by FedScoop. 

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