For the Department of War (DoW), digital engineering is no longer optional – it is essential. As threats evolve and the pace of technology accelerates, the DoW must modernize how it designs, tests, fields and sustains capabilities. Digital engineering – leveraging Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), and simulation-driven development – offers a path forward.
The benefits are clear: lower lifecycle costs, faster acquisition, and improved mission readiness.
However, adoption is uneven, with the largest barrier being cultural, not technical. This article explores the promise, challenges, and roadmap for adopting digital engineering to ultimately enable the DoW to be mission ready now.
Why Digital Engineering?
Digital engineering creates a single source of truth for program data, enabling engineers, program managers, and operators to collaborate in real-time. The Air Force’s eSeries aircraft, the Space Force’s Digital Engineering Ecosystem, and the Navy’s digital twin efforts all demonstrate the transformative power of this approach.
With digital engineering, designs can be validated through simulation, risks reduced earlier, and sustainment costs lowered through predictive analytics. It can also provide a competitive edge in proposals and execution.
Barriers to Adoption
Despite the benefits, adoption remains inconsistent. Programs often cling to legacy processes driven by compliance rather than collaboration. Common barriers include:
Cultural Resistance: Entrenched silos and reluctance to share data.
Technical Hurdles: Integration with legacy systems and interoperability gaps.
Workforce Skill Gaps: Lack of training in MBSE and model-based tools.
Contracting Barriers: Rigid FAR/DFARS compliance limiting innovation.
The Needed Culture Shift
Of the barriers, the greatest challenge is cultural. To realize the benefits of digital engineering, leaders must reward transparency, collaboration, and digital-first thinking. Data must be treated as a shared asset, not a protected silo. Engineers must be empowered to work in integrated digital environments, and acquisition officials must adapt contracting approaches.
Without this shift in mindset, digital engineering will remain a toolset without true impact.
Adopting Digital Engineering: A Roadmap
Organizations that succeed with digital engineering address both the technical and cultural barriers. A practical roadmap may include these five steps:
Establish a Digital Engineering Strategy aligned with DoW guidance.
Invest in workforce training and digital fluency across functions.
Stand up Integrated Digital Environments (IDEs) to enable collaboration.
Pilot quick wins to demonstrate value to stakeholders.
Scale adoption across programs, with incentives tied to digital-first practices.
Digital engineering has the potential to transform the way the Department of War acquires and sustains capabilities.
But, its success depends on leaders who are willing to break down silos, embrace transparency, and drive cultural change. The tools exist; the question is whether we will build the culture to match.
EXPANSIA is ready to help DoW leaders navigate both the technical and cultural dimensions of this transformation. The time to act is now – because the mission cannot wait.