New NPS Challenge Aims to Rewrite How the Military Builds Missiles | WEST 2026

War Department components are pivoting away from "exquisite" hardware in favor of agile, low-cost manufacturing methodologies. Part of this shift includes prize challenges like the Naval Postgraduate School's Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge, a non-traditional challenge that emphasizes methodology. Speaking at AFCEA/USNI WEST in San Diego, California, NPS Director of Research Innovation at the Naval Postgraduate School Kaitie Penry said that the Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge, unlike traditional military contracts that demand a hardware prototype, asks participants for a design methodology. The goal, she said, is to produce missiles at scale using 3D printing and commercial off-the-shelf parts for cost efficacy and scalability. Penry also said that the challenge aims to replace million-dollar assets with $5,000 alternatives that can be mass-produced, allowing the fleet to maintain a "quantity has a quality of its own" advantage for munitions.