Army hits pause on $10B software development contract

The Army has put on hold a $10 billion software contract as the service branch reviews its acquisition strategy.

The New Modern Software Development contract vehicle does not appear on any of lists of programs on the chopping block released by the Department of Government Efficiency.

But given the contract's size and scope, it would not be surprising if the Army is making a pre-emptive move to make sure the contract aligns with Trump administration priorities.

The Army has been planning this 10-year vehicle to have multiple providers of rapid software development services including DevSecOps, agile, lean, and continuous integration and continuous delivery.

On Jan. 30, the Army said it was planning to release the technical corporate experience worksheet ahead of the final solicitation. A new synopsis would then be released 15 days ahead of the solicitation.

Then on Feb. 18, the Army announced that the contract was “on hold indefinitely as the Army is reviewing the strategy.”

We have reached out to the Army for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

The Army was planning some innovative procurement approaches with this contract, including establishing a group of firms called “Awardable but Not Selected.” That group would include companies that just missed the cut, but would be a priority for selection in a future on-ramp.

Winning companies would be required to bid on at least a fourth of the task orders and win a fourth of the task orders they bid on.

If they failed to do that, they would go on probation and be at risk of being off-ramped if they do not improve in six months.