U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR
Mission Engineering and Integration Activity
MEIA
The warfighter’s next fight will be decided by who fields technology fastest.
MEIA — the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity — is the Department of War’s pipeline for turning the Joint Force’s hardest operational problems into combat-credible solutions. We connect validated mission needs to the American industrial base, evaluate solutions against real operational conditions, and move capability to contract in months, not years.
Industry partner with a solution? Start here →
Why This Matters
The threat is accelerating. The acquisition system is not.
America’s enemies are fielding AI-enabled targeting systems, commodity drone swarms, and logistics interdiction capabilities faster than our acquisition system can respond. Kill chains are compressing from hours to seconds. Supply lines that held for decades are now contested.
The technologies that maintain American advantage exist today in labs, garages, and commercial R&D centers across this country. But the companies that built them have no clear path to the warfighter, and the warfighter has no visibility into what industry has already built.
We believe that no warfighter should ever go into harm’s way wondering if a better technology existed but never made it through the system. That is the gap MEIA was built to close.
Move capability in months, not years.
What Is MEIA
Not another innovation shop. A pipeline.
MEIA is the Department of War’s engineering-first pathway from urgent operational problems to combat-credible solutions. We translate the Joint Force’s hardest problems into language industry can respond to, evaluate proposed solutions against mission-realistic conditions, and move validated capabilities to contract — fast.
Unlike most acquisition pathways, we assess production capacity and industrial scalability alongside technical merit, because a prototype that cannot be manufactured at speed and scale is not a solution to an urgent operational problem.
We measure ourselves not by events hosted or meetings held, but by technologies on contract and capabilities in the warfighter’s hands.
Mission Decomposition
Translate Topic Areas into concrete engineering problems with measurable outcomes.
Industry Alignment
Connect promising solutions to validated mission needs and clear transition pathways.
Decision Support
Deliver evidence-based recommendations that accelerate resourcing and contracting decisions.
How We Solve
A repeatable end-to-end pathway. One mission understanding. Evidence at every step.
Define the Need
Translate Topic Areas into precise, actionable mission threads — a Shared Mission Understanding before any engineering begins.
Mission Engineering Assessment
Apply rigorous, threat-informed mission engineering to proposed concepts and verify the underlying architectures, interoperability, and data.
Industry Engagement
Communicate validated needs to industry and solicit combat-credible solutions — not rigid technical specifications.
Evaluate Solutions
Run structured experimentation campaigns. Prototypes are tested against validated kill chains and assessed for production readiness and industrial capacity — because a solution that can’t be manufactured at scale doesn’t close the gap.
Decision Support
Aggregate experimentation data and operational impact into objective intelligence for Department leadership.
Drive Transition
Deliver data-backed recommendations that secure transition funding, establish the production pathway and industrial base plan, and push validated capability to the fielded force at scale.
Guiding Principles
Built for speed, transparency, and repeatability.
Speed
Agile teams, direct collaboration, and fast evidence loops reduce time-to-decision. Feedback to industry within 48 hours of submission. Decision packages to the Agreements Officer within 5 days.
Transparency
Industry and operators get direct access to simulation, analysis, and structured feedback on what matters most. Every submission gets a named point of contact and a clear answer.
Repeatability
A standardized process means industry, operators, and acquirers can move with confidence — every time. MEIA is a system, not a series of one-off events.
Why This Matters
The threat is accelerating. The acquisition system is not.
For DoW Leaders & Warfighters
You have an operational gap that existing programs aren’t closing fast enough.
You don’t need another Industry Day. You need technology on contract.
Send us the requirement. We’ll put the full weight of the American industrial base behind solving it — and we’ll show you results, not slides.
For Industry Partners
You’ve built something that could change the way the military operates.
You don’t need another black-hole proposal process. You need someone to read your submission and call you back.
Submit your technology. Get a call from a real human in 48 hours. Get on contract in 35 days.
What Success Looks Like
Technology in the warfighter’s hands. Not in a filing cabinet.
When MEIA works, warfighters deploy with today’s solutions — not last decade’s. Critical technologies move through the system instead of dying in acquisition limbo. Non-traditional companies stop walking away from the Department of War because someone finally called them back.
Technologies that prove out at the prototype stage don’t stall at scale, because MEIA builds the production pathway and industrial capacity plan before the transition decision — not after.
And the Arsenal of Freedom delivers at the speed of relevance.
How To Engage
Three ways to start.
Engage
Attend an Industry Day or Monthly Technical Exchange. See the pipeline in action and meet the companies already working the problem sets.
Submit
Send us a capability statement. You’ll hear from a real person within 48 hours.
Communicate
Stay connected. Sign up for the MEIA newsletter, follow our LinkedIn, or join the digital community.
OUSW(R&E)
The Pentagon
Office of the Under Secretary of War,
Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E))
3030 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-3030