Transitioning to agile software development is almost mandatory non only for commercial productions but also for mission critical applications. Although alleged “agile” programming tools and techniques have been available for more than a decade, a suitable replacement for the old fashion “software factories” CASE tools is yet to come. What is needed is an environment able to accommodate the peculiarities of agile development, including a support for the establishment of the cultural change necessary to fully implement agile, and the associated quality and reliability. ITA Army Agile or ITA(a)2 methodology has been devised and applied in a real working context, proving itself effective in the development of a C2 military software system. On such cultural basis, the no-profit DSSEA association (including Universities, Industries, Defense Agencies) is working at the definition of a comprehensive environment that aims at consolidating the new agile software engineering paradigm. Research programs proposals on the A-CASE, “noninvasive software tools” and the use of semantic technologies to facilitate the user requirement definition, are discussed.