Forecast: Sizzling

The defense market is heading into a hot spell, and not just because of the steamy Washington summer. Over the next several months, solicitations and awards will be issued for contracts that the Defense Department and the military will use to continue their business transformation efforts.

The dollar figures attached to these contracts range from staggering at $30 billion to the merely big at $300 million. As Staff Writer Roseanne Gerin explains in her cover story, the contracts show the Defense Department's growing use of multiple-award task-order contracts. And rather than use General Services Administration vehicles, the Defense Department is creating its own.

The contracts cover any number of services, but all either directly or indirectly supports business transformation. The goal of some of the deals, such as the Air Force's Professional Acquisition Support Services contract, is to allow shifting some military personnel from support positions to operations. Others, such as the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance contract, will support creating a new unmanned aerial vehicle platform.

Gerin's story has interviews with executives from some of the largest defense market players, including Computer Sciences Corp., General Dynamics Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp., as well as up-and-comers such as Apogen Technologies Inc. and Artel Inc.

Bottom line for many of these companies is that the competition is fierce, but the payoff and opportunities for growth also are great. As one company exec said, the defense market is "very promising."

When you look at the list of contracts and consider the state of the world, it's a forecast you can believe in ? no sweat.