Industry Guidance: Applying the 2026 DoW Digital Standards Strategy

The Department of War (DoW) has made its direction clear: programs must move beyond document-centric processes and operate within a fully model-based digital environment. Policies such as MIL-STD-31000, DoDI 5000.97 for Digital Engineering, and DoDI 5200.48 for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) have reshaped expectations for how digital product data is created, delivered, protected, and sustained.

At the same time, the DoW emerging 2026 digital standards direction reinforces several operational realities:

• Model-based product definition must serve as the authoritative source

• Data must remain accessible and usable for decades

• Programs must support collaboration across a distributed industrial base

• Technical information must be secure, portable, and independent of proprietary tools

Figure 1: The Defense Standardization Program Office published a new DoW Digital Standards Strategy in 2026 to promote use of digital standards to accelerate technology advancement and innovation.

For many organizations, the question is no longer whether to adopt digital engineering.

The question is: What capabilities are required to actually execute this strategy in day-to-day program operations?

This webinar provides a practical interpretation of the DoW 2026 digital direction from an execution perspective. Rather than focusing on policy alone, the session translates strategy into the technical and operational capabilities programs and contractors need to deliver compliant, secure, and usable Technical Data Packages across the lifecycle.

Attendees will learn:

 Industry Best Practices on Avoiding Digital Engineering Collaboration Gaps: 

• What the 2026 strategy means in practice for manufacturers
• Why authoritative models alone are not sufficient without a distribution strategy
• How the digital thread breaks down when data leaves PLM and engineering systems
• Why programs must support multiple delivery formats for different use case environments

How Related Key Policies Translate to Operational Requirements:

• DoDI 5000.97: Extending the digital thread beyond internal engineering tools
• MIL-STD-31000: Delivering contract-compliant model-based and 3D PDF Technical Data Packages
• DoDI 5200.48 (CUI): Enabling secure distribution of uncontrolled but sensitive technical data to suppliers and partners

The Core Digital Engineering Collaboration Capabilities Programs Will Need: 

• Multi-format publishing to support contract deliverables, collaboration, and long-term access
• Viewer-free, tool-independent access for users outside engineering systems
• Configuration-controlled distribution across primes, suppliers, and sustainment organizations
• Cross-domain model-based review, markup, and decision traceability
• Secure delivery architectures aligned to CUI handling and zero-trust environments
• Integration with existing CAD, PLM, and digital engineering ecosystems

A key takeaway from the DoW direction is that the future is not about replacing one format or system with another. It is about delivering authoritative model-based data in the right form, with the right controls, for every use case across the program lifecycle.

For digital engineering leaders, program managers, and contractors supporting DoD initiatives, this session provides a clear roadmap for aligning implementation decisions with policy direction—reducing risk, improving collaboration, and ensuring digital product data remains secure, accessible, and usable wherever it is needed.

Who Should Attend:

• Digital engineering and model-based enterprise leaders
• Program and engineering managers supporting DoW programs
• PLM, configuration management, and TDP professionals
• Supply chain, data governance, and security stakeholders
• Organizations responsible for delivering or consuming DoW technical data

We look forward to seeing customers, partners, and industry leaders interested in advancing surge readiness, and accelerating innovation.