In this notice the department uses “Arsenal of Freedom” as a programmatic label for an effort to rebuild and mobilize U.S. defense industrial capacity and speed weapons acquisition—i.e., a push to strengthen the defense industrial base, cut bureaucratic delays in contracting and accelerate fielding of systems to warfighters. The phrase echoes historical ‘‘Arsenal of Democracy’’ usage and has been used in the War Department’s speeches and tour materials to describe acquisition reforms and industrial revitalization.
The department’s public notice does not list specific invitees. Based on prior ‘‘Arsenal of Freedom’’ events and the department’s outreach patterns, invited participants typically include major defense primes, key defense technology companies and trade groups (e.g., Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, Raytheon, trade associations like NDIA or AIA), but the exact companies or associations for this counsel were not publicly named in the notice.
The public notice does not state that the counsel will be a FACA-chartered advisory committee. Whether it is subject to FACA depends on how the group is structured (formal committee, membership, chartering, public meetings). Absent a Federal Register notice or charter, there is no public indication this is a formal FACA advisory committee.
The notice does not detail conflict-of-interest procedures. Standard practice for DoD advisory bodies is to disclose and manage conflicts using federal ethics rules (OGE rules, DoD Joint Ethics Regulation/JER), public financial disclosure or OGE Form 450 for special government employees, recusal requirements, and oversight by the department ethics office—but the department did not publish specific COI or lobbying-management steps for this particular counsel.
The public notice gives the publication date (Feb. 13, 2026) but does not specify a timeline for receiving industry guidance or for implementing acquisition changes. Timing will depend on how the department follows up (e.g., meetings, charters, rulemaking, pilot programs) and any subsequent announcements; no implementation schedule was published in the notice.
The notice does not list specific metrics or benchmarks. In similar DoD acquisition reform efforts, measurable indicators have included reduced cycle times (requirement-to-contract award, prototype-to-fielding), contract award lead times, production/surge capacity metrics, delivery timelines to units, and readiness or capability fielding rates—but the department did not publish the concrete metrics for this counsel initiative.
