Overview
- Acting Secretary Hung Cao named William F. Mahan to perform the duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, making him the senior acquisition executive for the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Jason L. Potter, who had been performing those duties since mid-2025, will return to his prior post as principal civilian deputy to support the office's work.
- Mahan is a 2003 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former submarine officer who joined the Navy staff in February after running a defense engineering firm that did systems engineering, rapid prototyping, flight testing, and acquisition support.
- The appointment comes as the Navy faces sharp execution pressure from the Pentagon's FY2027 budget plans, which include about $65.8 billion for shipbuilding and larger missile procurement requests.
- Acting leaders are pushing a shift from a compliance-focused acquisition culture to a warfighter-focused model that seeks a mixed 'Golden Fleet,' faster deliveries through more suppliers, and buy-from-multiple-vendors approaches to speed production while the ASN(RD&A) role remains unfilled by a Senate nominee.