# DoD Expands OTA Procurement Use

A Breaking Defense article argues that the Department of Defense’s growing use of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for prototyping and production reduces cost transparency and competition, without verified evidence that it accelerates delivery. It points to multibillion-dollar OTA-backed programs and recommends that Congress limit OTA to research and development, reconsider the exemption of non-traditional contractors from Cost Accounting Standards, and require comparisons of delivery times with FAR-based contracts. These are recommendations in the article, not enacted policy changes.

- For acquisition teams using OTA beyond R&D, the article highlights scrutiny of competition, cost visibility, and evidence that the approach delivers schedule benefits.
- The cited programs include up to $3.2 billion for Space-Based Interceptor OTA agreements and a combined $6.5 billion for OTAs supporting the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program and Space Data Network.
- Contractors participating in OTA procurements may find it useful to assess how potential limits on production use or changes to the non-traditional contractor Cost Accounting Standards exemption could affect their acquisition strategies; neither change is described as adopted.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** October 22, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
- U.S. Congress
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- Space Systems Command (SSC)

### Vendors
- General Dynamics Mission Systems (awardee)
- Lockheed Martin (awardee)
- Northrop Grumman (awardee)
- Raytheon (RTX) (awardee)
- SpaceX (awardee)

### Sources
- [The Pentagon has gone too far in using the Other Transaction Authority. Congress should act. - Breaking Defense](https://breakingdefense.com/2026/10/the-pentagon-has-gone-too-far-in-using-the-other-transaction-authority-congress-should-act) - Breaking Defense