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WT 360: Fiscal year 2027's key features include contract scrutiny and tech differentiation

Ross Wilkers — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Federal technology integrators spent much of fiscal year 2025 trying to see what a new world order of contracting would look like, then fiscal 2026 was all about settling into that environment.

John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector analysts at the market intelligence firm Technology Business Research, join for this episode to go over how agencies’ emphasis on outcomes and accountability from contractors are carrying over into the just-started fiscal 2027.

One way integrators are responding to that scrutiny is offering more intellectual property, including reusable software and other products. Caucis and Wichert walk our Ross Wilkers through how integrators are going about IP and which companies are most active in this respect.

Caucis and Wichert also break down the opportunity sets in both defense and civilian markets, plus the evolving tech partnership scene for integrators that they must be involved in. Artificial intelligence and hyperscale cloud computing are merely two examples of that, as Caucis and Wichert explain.

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Fiscal 2027 brings big opportunities, and big challenges

Nick Wakeman — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:30:53 -0400

Government contractors will have a range of large opportunities to pursue in 2027, but the market will not be without its challenges.

Deltek released a pair of reports this week tracking the market's top 20 full-and-open opportunities and top 10 set aside contracts for small businesses.

The full and open side includes LOGCAP VI, which Deltek estimates has an $82 billion ceiling, to the Army’s Marketing and Advertising Program worth up to $4 billion.

The small business side includes the Defense Logistics Agency's $60 billion Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program 6 competition, as well as the General Services Administration's STARS IV with a $50 billion ceiling.

Deltek’s analysis of the large opportunities shows agencies are consolidating more contracts, which increases competition.

For example, LOGCAP VI is folding in the Army Pre-Positioned Stock and the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise contracts. The Ginnie Mae Master Subservicer Support Services contract consolidates several standalone Single Family Master Subservicer contracts and a previously separate Multi-Family Master Subservicer requirement.

The Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is consolidating how it buys cybersecurity solutions in the Strategic Cyber Tools Buying Support vehicle, which will be open to all civilian agencies and have a $6 billion ceiling.

Fifteen of the large business 20 opportunities have incumbents.

Deltek identified is that more agencies are shifting work to GSA vehicles like the Schedules, OASIS+ and Alliant. For example, DHS canceled its $18 billion Cyber Dome vehicle.

Contractors not on key schedules and vehicles will have to rely on open enrollments, on-ramps and teaming to position for opportunities.

It is also worth noting that the top 20 includes very few of what can be considered pure IT contracts. Only the CISA SCTB vehicle and the Justice Department’s IT Support Services 6 contract are there to deliver IT-related services.

IT is definitely embedded in the other contracts, but is not the primary focus. Instead you have contracts for disability examinations, construction services, pharmacy services, and logistics.

For small businesses, the biggest issue facing that segment of the market is the proposed small business size standards.

Deltek sees increased competition because current small businesses will stay small longer and some current large businesses will qualify as small.

Companies that stay small longer also can continue to compete for their current contracts, a phenomenon Deltek called “increased generational incumbents.”

Current small businesses will likely find themselves competing with larger and more-resourced companies for set-aside contracts.

Deltek also sees a risk of reduced subcontracting opportunities because large businesses that are no longer considered large will not have to submit small business subcontracting plans.

At the same time, there will be more small businesses that can be added to SB subcontracting plans. Deltek sees that as increasing the competition for places in those plans.

One caveat from Deltek’s report is that timing for the large and small contracts could easily slip beyond 2027.

In last year’s opportunity roundup, five of the 20 top opportunities slipped from FY 2026 to 2027. The same could happen again.

“Dates will frequently shift as the government solidifies its acquisition plans,” Deltek says at the start of the full-and-open report.

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Cyber, tech and operations leadership moves across the market

Ross Wilkers — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:24:58 -0400

Accenture Federal Services

Nathaniel Parker has joined the professional services provider’s subsidiary for the U.S. government market as chief information security officer, a role he brings two decades of industry experience to.

Parker most recently spent 10 years at Boston Consulting Group’s federal business, including the past seven as CISO. He is also a former senior security engineer for MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

AFS announced Parker’s new role in a LinkedIn post.

Cherokee Federal

Terri Malone has joined the government services provider as chief growth officer, a role she brings 25 years of experience to.

Malone is reuniting with her former Serco North America colleague Tom Watson, who started on Oct. 1 as Cherokee Federal’s CEO. She most recently held the CGO role at Serco Group’s subsidiary for the U.S. and Canada.

Prior to Serco North America, she spent two decades at Northrop Grumman and held leadership roles across business development and strategy functions.

CodeMettle

Kimberly Morris has joined the data management software developer as vice president for its portfolio of programs with Space Force, the Navy and Marine Corps, and other defense agencies.

Morris is a three-decade satellite communications veteran, whose career includes 20 years of service as a communications officer in the Marine Corps. She is also a former deputy of the Navy Space Department at Navy Network Warfare Command.

CodeMettle announced Morris’ new role in a LinkedIn post.

Concurrent Technologies Corp.

Marion Kennedy has joined the nonprofit science and research firm as vice president of digital mission solutions, a role she brings 35 years of public sector experience to.

Kennedy will lead CTC’s team that works on efforts across different disciplines of IT to include cloud architecture and security, cyber, data management and analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

She most recently worked as a senior vice president at LMI.

General Dynamics IT

Ryan Heritage, a 35-year military veteran and former director of operations at U.S. Cyber Command, has joined the defense company’s IT services unit as vice president of full-spectrum cyber.

The retired Marine Corps major general will lead GDIT’s cyber center of excellence, as well as efforts to grow and develop the unit’s cyber workforce.

At Cybercom, Heritage oversaw full-spectrum joint and combined cyberspace operations and cyber readiness missions across the military. He is also a former commanding general for the Marine Corps’ cyber, space and information commands

GXO

Dan Davis has joined the global logistics giant as president of its aerospace and defense vertical, a newly-created role he brings two decades of industry experience to.

Davis will lead efforts related to market development, customer acquisition, strategic partnerships and pipeline growth for GXO.

He most recently worked as president of FSI Defense and before that spent 15 years at Lockheed Martin.

ICF

Gary Barber has joined the technology and professional services provider as group chief technology officer for digital modernization and experience, a role he brings 24 years of experience to.

ICF’s announcement on the hire describes his background as including technology strategy, digital modernization, cloud transformation, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence initiatives across the federal government.

Barber most recently worked at LMI as vice president and chief technology officer for its Homeland Security Department portfolio. His career also includes roles at Science Applications International Corp. and Booz Allen Hamilton.

J29

Garrett Gilbert has joined the health and human services management consulting company as vice president of strategic growth, a role he brings 15 years of experience to.

Gilbert will lead J29’s teams responsible for identifying opportunities, running capture and proposal processes, and positioning the company for growth.

He most recently worked as vice president of capture management at ERP International.

Loyal Source Government Solutions

Heath Starr has taken on the new title of chief revenue officer at the workforce and healthcare solutions provider, which he joined in January as chief growth officer.

Starr will lead efforts to align Loyal Source’s business development, capture, client strategy, corporate development, government affairs, marketing and growth functions with its operating model and investment priorities.

Starr joined Loyal Source after 11 years at Science Applications International Corp., where his most recent position was a senior vice president role in the civilian group.

Muon Space

Jody Kelman has joined the small satellite maker as chief product officer, a role she brings 15 years of tech industry experience to.

Kelman most recently spent a decade at Lyft and has also worked at McKinsey & Company. She served in President Obama’s 2008 transition team focused on technology, innovation and government reform.

Muon has also hired Emelia Probasco as head of strategy and communications. Probasco most recently worked as chief communications officer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Muon completed its $250 million Series C capital raise back in the summer.

Oddball

Kathy Klapacz has joined the digital services provider as chief operating officer, a role she brings two decades of experience to.

Klapacz will oversee efforts to enhance collaboration across Oddball’s delivery, engineering and growth functions. She most recently worked as vice president of programs and delivery at J29.

Oddball is owned by the private equity firm Falfurrias Management Partners, which purchased the company in 2025.

Peraton

The technology integrator has added a trio of vice presidents to its ranks, both in the defense and civilian businesses.

Jennifer Swanson and Danielle Moyer have taken up VP positions in Peraton’s defense business, where they will respectively focus on tech and strategy. Swanson is a former deputy assistant army secretary for data engineering and software, while Moyer most recently served as executive director for Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

Masood Ahmed has started as vice president for the operating unit focused on defense health, veterans services, and health and human services. The two-decade market veteran most recently spent 10 years at Leidos.

Reveal Technology

Matthew Mejía has joined the veteran-founded defense tech company as chief financial officer, a role he brings three decades of experience to.

This hire follows an active period for, including a $30 million Series B capital raise closed in the summer of 2025 and acquisition of Anomaly Six in January.

Mejía most recently worked as CFO and chief strategy officer at Meridian Space. Prior to that, he was chief strategy and development officer at Sierra Space. He also co-founded the defense market consulting firm Renaissance Strategic Advisors.

Thunder

Seth Finkel has moved into the head of federal position at the Salesforce and Amazon Connect integration specialist, which he first joined in July as vice president of federal delivery and operations.

“In his new role, Seth will lead our mission to help federal agencies modernize faster, using AI, Salesforce, and cloud innovation to deliver the experiences citizens expect,” Thunder said in a LinkedIn post.

Finkel held the chief operating officer post at IronArch Technology for two years prior to Thunder.

Ursa Major

David Rader has joined the rocket propulsion system manufacturer as chief strategy officer, a role he brings two decades of public sector experience to.

“David will lead long-range planning and execution to scale our flight-proven propulsion and defense systems across solid rocket motors, hypersonics, and space mobility,” Ursa Major said in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

Rader most recently served in senior roles across the Defense Department including at its Economic Defense Unit, Defense Innovation Unit, and Global Investment and Economic Security Office.

Windward

Susan Kalweit has joined the artificial intelligence tech outfit as chief operating officer for its U.S. federal business, a role she brings four decades of public sector experience to.

Kalweit most recently was vice president of programs for the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. Her private sector career also includes a stint at Deloitte. She has also served in leadership roles at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, including as director of analysis.

Kalweit announced her new role in a LinkedIn post.

Agile Space Industries

Jonathan Baliff, formerly Redwire chief financial officer, has joined the board of directors at this venture-backed maker of rocket engines and other in-space propulsion systems.

Baliff held the CFO role at Redwire for a three-year period that included its acquisition of Edge Autonomy for $925 million in cash and stock.

He is also a former CEO of Bristow Group and has held senior leadership positions at NRG Energy and Credit Suisse.

Agile Space also announced its hire of Theo Squires, a former intelligence officer for Australia’s navy, as director of strategy and corporate development.

Firefly Aerospace

Rick Ambrose, a four-decade defense veteran and former longtime Lockheed Martin executive, has joined the board of directors at this launch and space systems manufacturer.

Ambrose led Lockheed Martin Space for eight years until his retirement from the company in the spring of 2022 after two decades there.

Firefly announced its board’s addition of Ambrose in a LinkedIn post.

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White House unveils billions in investments for Genesis Mission

Edward Graham — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The Trump administration on Thursday announced billions in investments from the federal government to help advance U.S. scientific research and development, with almost a dozen leading tech companies also committing to provide cloud and software credits to help the White House follow through on its Genesis Mission initiative.

The announcements came at the White House’s AI Science Summit, which the administration billed as a $6 billion push to drive the next era of U.S.-led scientific and technological innovation and to further expand the effort across the government. The event evolved out of a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy report released in July that detailed ways of ushering in “the Golden Age of American Innovation.”

Eleven tech giants pledged to provide $2.4 billion in compute credits for the Genesis Mission Consortium, which the White House said will be used to support “over 15 Federal agencies working towards National Science & Technology Challenges.”

The industry commitments included $1 billion from Nvidia, $500 million from AMD and $200 million from OpenAI. Anthropic and Google each pledged $150 million, while AMP and Emerald AI each committed $100 million. Amazon Web Services, Armada, Crusoe and Micron each committed $50 million.

"American scientists are on the cusp of breakthroughs that will define the next century — from accelerating biomedical research and improving health outcomes, to AI-driven drug discovery — but they need computing power at scale," David Appel, interim vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS, said in a statement.

Federal agencies also unveiled a host of new funding opportunities, programs and partnerships to further drive scientific discovery.

The Pentagon announced a series of steps to align with the White House effort, including establishing an enterprisewide framework to measure and enhance the effectiveness of its laboratories and research centers. The department similarly announced up to $350 million for quantum computing initiatives to strengthen use of the advanced capabilities for national security purposes.

"President [Donald] Trump has made it clear that technological dominance requires us to move faster, safeguard our research, and build right here in America," Emil Michael, undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering, said in a statement. "We are answering that call by dismantling barriers to commercialization, modernizing our labs, and ruthlessly securing taxpayer-funded research from foreign exploitation.”

The same day, the Energy Department announced $159 million in new phase II Genesis Mission project awards, $96 million for early-career researchers and a new graduate fellowship program, along with an effort to advance the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Trump also used Thursday’s summit as an opportunity to award the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and the National Medal of Science to six leading tech executives. One of the award recipients was SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who helmed the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency at the start of Trump's second term.

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What industry must get right to accelerate technology adoption in the IC

Shelby Pierson — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:28:21 -0400

The U.S. intelligence community is working to improve how it buys and adopts technology. Progress varies across agencies, but the direction is clear: the IC needs faster and more flexible ways to bring commercial software, cloud computing, geospatial intelligence, cybersecurity, and other emerging capabilities into mission workflows.

Commercial technology often moves faster than government budgeting, acquisition, security, and integration processes. Artificial intelligence models and cloud software can evolve in weeks, while government adoption can take far longer. That gap can leave analysts and operators without timely access to the best available tools.

To narrow this gap, IC agencies are using a range of established authorities and acquisition approaches, including commercial solutions openings, broad agency announcements, prize challenges, innovation hubs, and, where authorized and appropriate, other transaction agreements.

These approaches can create faster entry points for commercial technology, but they do not eliminate requirements for competition, security, fiscal discipline, oversight, or accountability.

For mid-market contractors, this creates an important opportunity to contribute to national security missions. Capturing that opportunity requires more than a strong product. Companies must align with a mission need, plan for security and integration, understand the budget and contracting path, and identify who will own the capability if it succeeds.

Lead with Mission Impact, Not Feature Lists

Agile acquisition pathways lower the barrier to entry, but technology companies must bring clear operational value. Advanced technology only gains traction when it directly addresses an immediate, defined mission need.

Contractors must answer two fundamental questions upfront:

Does this solve a specific mission problem?
Can it be secured, integrated, sustained, and scaled?

Capabilities must account for real-world operational environments, including deployment in tactical settings, low-bandwidth conditions, and strict latency limits.

Additionally, firms should embrace incremental awards rather than holding out for massive, single-award contracts. Smaller, fast-turnaround deliverables allow agencies to collect continuous user feedback. This approach reduces the risk that vendors will spend years building tools that no longer meet user needs by the time they are delivered.

Starting with a clearly defined mission problem gives industry the focus needed to make good product, investment, and capture decisions. It also gives the government a more useful basis for testing whether a capability is ready to move beyond a demonstration.

Treat Security as a Design Feature, Not Paperwork

Flexible acquisition pathways do not eliminate procurement rigor. Standard rules around competition, data rights, and cybersecurity remain fully in force.

One of the most persistent obstacles for commercial vendors is securing an authority to operate. Classification requirements, data access, integration, and deployment environments can create additional barriers. Treating these issues as administrative tasks to address only after winning a contract is a critical mistake.

Security is a design characteristic, not a paperwork event. Companies should build security architecture into product development and capture strategy from day one. When government and industry address security requirements early, they reduce avoidable delays later in the adoption process.

This is not solely industry's responsibility. IC components can make requirements more understandable and predictable by providing approved technical patterns, shared environments, reference architectures, and common control profiles where possible. Giving companies clearer information early helps them design for the actual environment and arrive better prepared for security review.

Prepare for Budget Realities and CR Bottlenecks

Unpredictable federal funding remains a major point of friction for commercial software vendors. Continuing Resolutions (CRs) can restrict new starts, delay planned awards and reduce agency flexibility. For companies built around recurring subscription revenue, those delays can create real business risk.

While broader reforms could make software funding more flexible, mid-market contractors should plan around the system that exists today. Three practical steps can help:

Diversify beyond the IC: Avoid relying entirely on niche IC capabilities that lack a broader commercial pathway.
Socialize payment realities early: Work with program managers to set payment schedules that reflect actual upfront costs and deliver value in manageable milestones.
Maintain budget realism: Treat letters of support, senior champions, and successful demonstrations as positive signals, not fully funded requirements.

Many promising pilots stall out because no single entity takes ownership of long-term funding. A successful transition requires identifying a dedicated mission owner, the office with the "catcher's mitt,” before the pilot begins.

Because agency budgets are tight, scaling a new capability often requires defunding or sunsetting a legacy program. Agencies cannot wait until the end of a multi-year pilot to secure funding. Contractors that clarify their funding source, contract pathway, and transition plan early are best positioned to scale across the enterprise.

Build for Interoperability Out of the Box

As more commercial products enter the national security market, integration is becoming a key differentiator. The IC increasingly expects commercial tools to work within existing architectures, data standards, security boundaries, and analyst workflows.

Instead of waiting for the government to fund extensive systems engineering after an award, vendors should design for open interfaces, portability, and integration from the beginning. The government must also identify the mission owner, funding source, contracting pathway, integration environment, and transition plan before launching another pilot. Faster acquisition helps, but lasting adoption occurs only when a useful capability can be secured, funded, integrated, and sustained at mission scale.

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HawkEye 360 hires Lockheed vet to lead US government biz

Ross Wilkers — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:01:58 -0400

HawkEye 360 has hired a new executive leader for its U.S. government business in John Monahan, a 35-year defense sector veteran and former Lockheed Martin executive.

HawkEye 360’s U.S. federal portfolio centers around signals intelligence offerings to include space-based radio frequency data, signal processing and analytics.

Monahan will be responsible for advancing HawkEye 360’s existing programs with that customer set and leading efforts to expand its presence across the market, the company said Thursday.

At Lockheed, Monahan previously worked as vice president of space protection programs with responsibility for satellite and other programs in national security. He is also a former senior executive at Kratos and RT Logic.

"Growing our U.S. government business is a central part of HawkEye 360's corporate growth strategy, and it requires dedicated leadership focused on the needs of government and intelligence community customers," Todd Probert, HawkEye 360 chief operating officer, said in a release. "John brings the experience and customer understanding to strengthen program execution, deepen those relationships, and expand our role in supporting their missions."

Monahan joins HawkEye 360 five months after the company completed its $416 million initial public offering, one of several in a run of other listings by defense and space technology companies looking to tap into heightened investor interest.

U.S. government work represented 61% of HawkEye 360’s total revenue of $117.6 million for 2025, according to the company’s S-1 registration statement. HawkEye’s U.S. federal customer base includes the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Space Force.

Before entering industry, Monahan served in the Air Force for 20 years and held leadership assignments spanning different aspects of the space domain.

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Autonomy, space and logistics startups detail their newest capital raises

Ross Wilkers — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:54:36 -0400

Aventra

This maker of autonomous precision payload systems has collected $17.5 million in new capital to aid efforts in accelerating current production efforts and expanding the tech roadmap.

Aventra was founded in 2025 by Army veterans Michael Weigand, Brian Retherford and Jessup Meng to develop the systems for rapid fielding and employment from stratospheric altitudes.

The company built its flagship Piranha system to carry munitions for electronic warfare and kinetic missions, as well as for use in ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). The Army has used Piranha for exercises and tests, while Aventra is touting the system as having delivered payloads and supported ISR operations across 400 flights.

Konvoy Ventures led the round that also included participation from Booz Allen Hamilton’s venture capital arm, which is a new investor in Aventra.

Other new investors include Sands Capital, Langford Industries and a funding facility from Western Alliance Bank. Lavrock Ventures is continuing its involvement after leading Aventra’s initial $3 million seed round in late 2025.

Aventra will use the capital to expand its manufacturing capacity, testing and demonstration capabilities, grow the engineering and production team, and look at new use cases. Aventra is also starting development work of a “new, unannounced platform” it provided no further detail on.

Fortastra

This developer of spacecraft for national defense programs has fetched $30 million in Series A capital from investors to aid efforts in accelerating the development of its core platforms, along with their related tech capabilities.

Fortastra was founded in 2025 by Dr. Mike Smayda, co-founder of Hermeus and a former SpaceX engineer, to develop maneuverable spacecraft that can protect commercial and military satellites from threats while in-orbit.

The spacecraft are designed to position themselves near the satellites being defended, evaluate surrounding activity and then respond to potential threats. Fortastra refers to its platforms as “bodyguards in space.”

Investment firm First In led the Series A round that also involved RTX Ventures, the blue chip defense hardware company’s arm for investing in startups. Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared and Side Door Ventures also participated alongside other existing investors.

Fortastra will use the newfound capital to grow its engineering team, further iterate its software and autonomy capabilities and expand manufacturing infrastructure to build modular spacecraft buses.

The company is also looking to enhance its offerings in the field known as GNC – guidance, navigation and control.

Gallatin AI

This provider of software tools for military logistics missions has completed a $50 million Series A capital raise to aid its engineering workforce and product development expansion efforts.

Gallatin AI was founded in 2024 by CEO Woody Glier, as well as Chief Technology Officer Daniel Buchmueller and Chief Product Officer Brian Ballard, to develop technology that can help the Pentagon gain insights into supply chain and logistics functions.

The company built its flagship Navigator platform to help leaders look at data and workflows across military forces to use in vehicle readiness, supply and medical processes.

8VC and Silent Ventures are among the named Series A round participants, alongside other new and existing investors.

Gallatin touts Army and Air Force organizations as users of Navigator for the tactical, operational and strategic levels of military planning.

Gallatin will also use the newfound capital to further iterate the artificial intelligence functionality of Navigator amid the company’s push to grow its presence on four continents.

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Chickasaw Nation's contracting arm buys network engineering provider

Ross Wilkers — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:49:38 -0400

Chickasaw Nation Industries’ federal contracting subsidiary has acquired a communications and network engineering services provider in a move to further build out the defense portfolio.

SNR Systems opened for business in 2006 and also specializes in Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol label switching technologies, also known as IP/MLPS. These systems are designed to speed up network connections by using short path labels to deliver data instead of the traditional method of IP address searching.

CNI Federal Services grows to 1,400 employees with the addition of SNR. Financial terms of the transaction announced Tuesday were not disclosed.

SNR describes its technical expertise areas as including legacy systems modernization, network transport systems, IP communications, cybersecurity, data centers, and microwave and mobile communications. The company's web page cites customers as including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Energy and Homeland Security departments.

Rock Hall Partners represented SNR in this transaction.

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White House targets tech giants with H-1B visa suspension

Nick Wakeman — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:31:54 -0400

EDITOR's NOTE: This story has been updated with comments from Microsoft.

The Trump administration has barred multiple technology companies from hiring workers from outside the U.S. under H-1B visa program.

At the top of the administration's list is Microsoft, which Vice President J.D. Vance called the "biggest abuser" of the program. Microsoft laid off 6,000 workers in 2015 while adding 6,300 people via the H-1B visa program and another 3,000 workers with Green Cards, Vance said at a White House briefing Thursday.

Microsoft pushed back in a statement Thursday afternoon, saying about 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications in the last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of current employees, not to hire new workers.

Other companies under suspension include Adobe, Cognizant, Tata, Wipro, Infosys, HCL and Capgemini.

“We are cutting off the head of the snake,” Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said in the briefing.

Vance said the administration’s fraud task force has launched multiple criminal investigations, but the abuse of the foreign worker programs is so severe that action could not wait.

The government will not process new or pending applications for H-1B visas and Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM, the Labor Department process that is typically the first step for an employer sponsoring a worker for a green card.

“H-1B is how they get in, and PERM program is how they stay,” Vance said.

The White House is claiming rampant fraud in the program that goes back decades.

“H-1B was meant to bring in the best of the best of foreign workers for positions that are impossible to fill with American workers,” Vance said.

Vance said companies will advertise for open positions and then claim no American workers applied, then "go and replace them with indentured servants."

Worker abuse has long been a complaint aimed at the H-1B program because the company, not the individual, holds the visa. That can make it difficult for someone to switch jobs or file complaints.

“They don’t come in with the same rights as an American citizen or American employee. They are being mistreated by their employers and are used to undercut the wages of American workers,” Vance said.

Many of the targeted companies are also federal contractors.

Microsoft is one of the government's largest software suppliers. Cognizant, Capgemini, Infosys, Tata, Wipro and HCL all perform federal IT services work directly or through U.S. subsidiaries.

It is not clear yet whether the suspension affects workers assigned to government contracts.

In a statement, Microsoft said its remaining H-1B filings for new hires were for people already legally in the United States and that those hires equal about 1% of its U.S. workforce.

“They are not new arrivals to our country,” the company said.

Microsoft also said it pays H-1B employees the same as other people doing comparable work and that its H-1B wages are among the highest of any filer.

The company added the vast majority of its employees in the U.S. are Americans and that it looks forward to giving the administration more information.

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General Dynamics' Novakovic to hand CEO reins over to Deep

Nick Wakeman — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:45:42 -0400

General Dynamics' longtime CEO Phebe Novakovic is turning the reins over to company president Danny Deep, effective Jan. 1.

Novakovic will then transition to executive chairman of the board of directors after having led GD since 2013. Deep is a 25-year veteran of the company.

“Danny is a highly skilled executive with rich operating experience. It has been a pleasure working closely with him and I am certain he will be an outstanding CEO,” Novakovic said in the company’s Wednesday announcement. “I very much look forward to our continuing collaboration.”

When Novakovic became CEO in January 2013, the market was headed into sequestration and a declining military demand. She brought a disciplined approach to company operations and how it managed cash.

Novakovic saw the company win major programs as defense spending began increasing later in the decade. Revenue grew from $31 billion in 2017 to $52.6 billion in 2025.

In 2018, GD made its largest-ever acquisition when it bought CSRA for $9.7 billion

“On behalf of the board, we thank Phebe for her outstanding leadership and lasting contributions to General Dynamics,” said Laura J. Schumacher, independent lead director. “We have greatly benefitted from her efforts in setting a clear strategic vision, creating enduring value and in building a strong and capable leadership team.

Deep has held multiple roles at the company including executive vice president of global operations, executive vice president for combat systems, and president of GD Land Systems.

GD's board voted to promote Deep less than a week after the announcement that Amy Gilliland had left the company after a decade as president of the IT services unit. Gilliland had been with GD since 2005.

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Census Bureau partially sketches out timeline for $2.5B in digital transformation pacts

Ross Wilkers — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:19:01 -0400

The Census Bureau has partially updated the timeline for competing its primary enterprise technology and application modernization contract mechanism in support of the 2030 exercise.

Also known as CenTAM, the Census Bureau Transformation & Application Modernization effort will be a set of four blanket purchase agreements covering various tech needs for the U.S.’ next population tally.

The Census Bureau first detailed the planned structure of awards for CenTAM in the summer of 2025, then held an industry day in July to further explain the plan.

The Census Bureau is now reassessing portions of CenTAM’s framework given how artificial intelligence and other technology areas have quickly evolved, the agency said in a Tuesday Sam.gov notice.

CenTAM will have a combined ceiling value of roughly $2.5 billion across all BPAs, according to a slide deck from the July 21 industry day.

In describing AI, the bureau’s newest notice uses the term “Super Intelligence” following President Trump’s Sept. 29 executive order directing agencies to use the SI phrase in official communications.

The new rough timeline for CenTAM pegs solicitation activity for the decennial- and geospatial-focused BPAs to start ramping up before this calendar year ends.

More details will be forthcoming for the enterprise BPA, as well as the systems and programs pact, after the Census Bureau completes its review of those requirements and acquisition strategies.

Both the enterprise and decennial BPAs will have ceilings of $1 billion each for multiple awardees, while the geospatial piece will be worth up to $241 million and the SPS portion will have a maximum $311 million value. The geospatial and SPS tracks will have single winners.

Work under each BPA will take place over one initial base year and up to nine individual option years.

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Edgewater acquires scientific computing provider

Ross Wilkers — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:14:14 -0400

Edgewater Federal Solutions has acquired a high-performance computing services provider as part of an ongoing push to build out a portfolio of enterprise modernization and mission technology offerings for agencies.

RedLine Performance Solutions opened for business in 1998 to provide scientific and other complex computing services to aid agencies in their research, engineering and innovation efforts.

By acquiring RedLine, Edgewater is looking to bolster its capabilities in designing and deploying modern tech tools for use in HPC environments. Financial terms of the transaction announced Tuesday were not disclosed.

“The addition of RedLine strengthens our ability to help customers navigate the convergence of data center modernization, cloud, cybersecurity, software engineering, AI, and HPC while delivering the technologies required to address evolving mission challenges,” Edgewater CEO Tom Ferrando said in a release. “Together, we’re building a company that can design, deploy, operate, and optimize the systems that support the nation’s critical infrastructure.”

Edgewater is touting the combined company as providing enterprise modernization, cloud, cybersecurity and software engineering services to agencies along with the HPC and scientific computing.

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Tetra Tech loses EPA protest over technician the agency already approved

Nick Wakeman — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:13:02 -0400

Tetra Tech learned the hard way that the government’s approval on an incumbent contract does not mean anything when the work is recompeted.

The Government Accountability Office has denied the company’s protest of an Environmental Protection Agency contract awarded went to Weston Solutions.

Tetra Tech was the incumbent on the Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team VI contract, but its proposal for START VII was found to be unacceptable because it did not meet the requirements for key personnel.

EPA required bidders to propose eight qualified environmental technicians. The solicitation included minimum education and experience requirements.

One of those qualifications was a bachelor of science degree in environmental science.

A technician at Tetra Tech was rejected because she had a bachelor of arts degree, not a bachelor of science, and only about two months of experience.

In its proposal, Tetra Tech said the agency had recently approved the person to work on the current version of START.

Tetra Tech argued that because evaluators knew EPA had already approved her for the same position, they had no basis to find her unqualified.

While that seems logical, GAO said that the solicitation had clear qualification requirements.

There is no requirement in the RFP for EPA to consider performance on the current contract as a “substitute for meeting the position’s minimum qualification requirements,” GAO said.

GAO also rejected Tetra Tech’s argument that EPA needs to justify both the difference in treatment from the agency’s approval of the technician under the incumbent contract and its rejection of the same person for the new contract.

There is nothing to reconcile, according to Tetra Tech. One decision is a matter of contract administration, while the other is the evaluation of a proposal.

But GAO pushed back and pointed out that Tetra Tech “did not meaningfully dispute” that the person failed to meet the solicitation’s minimum requirements.

Tetra Tech was not in line for the award because its proposal was unacceptable under the key personnel factor, the most important in the evaluation. That sunk the rest of Tetra Tech's protest.

GAO dismissed Tetra Tech's challenges to its past performance evaluation and the best-value decision, ruling that the company was not an interested party.

This was Tetra Tech's second protest of the award. EPA first picked Weston in November 2025, then took corrective action after Tetra Tech protested. EPA named a new evaluation team, but the result was the same.

Given GAO’s ruling, the lesson is pretty clear: Each procurement stands on its own and every resume has to be checked against the new solicitation.

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The Pentagon’s autonomy command should draw on lessons old and new

Patrick Tucker — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400

As Pentagon leaders launch their latest effort to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous and robotic systems, they can draw on key lessons from past attempts and recent breakthroughs.

The planned Autonomous Warfare Command, slated to launch by next October, will promote “not a particular drone, but the ability to adapt in combat” against “realistic opposition,” according to a Sept. 30 memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who added: “We do not have a decade to transition our procurement and doctrine.”

That’s because on today’s battlefields, effective adaptation to “realistic opposition” is something that happens in weeks, not the months and years it typically takes defense contractors to update designs or even issue software patches. Fortunately, the Pentagon isn’t starting from scratch.

Start with the mission, not the robot

Start with asking commanders and operators what they want from autonomy and robots, rather than trying to dazzle them with an experiment or demonstration that isn't relevant to what they need.

One example is Maven Smart System, an AI intelligence platform widely adopted by the U.S. military and NATO forces—and a model for getting emerging technology to the force faster. A noted 2024 report for CNAS wrote, “A clear, urgent, but broad problem definition permitted Maven to more directly meet user needs.”

So what do combatant commanders want now? Here’s Gen. Frank Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, speaking in May at a Defense One event:

“Most of the systems we're looking at are primarily our domain awareness systems, and…We can match the robots to the environment whether it swims, it flies, it has feet, whatever it does.”

Donovan had just finished leading the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, the special-operations effort to apply autonomy and robotics to missions. He discovered that robots were needed not just to replace humans in combat but to better understand what was happening in the places where boots weren’t on the ground.

“Our partners, who have the access and placement where they live, have to work in, in the rough terrain, the jungle, over the horizon, thousands of miles at sea.”

Build communicative autonomy

Donovan said most of his work at the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group was about getting people partners to talk about what information they needed from robotic systems and what information they wanted those systems robots to have.

“We don't talk about robots. We talk about the data environment, right? With the different data layers that we need at the very forward edge so our [special operations forces] and our conventional force teammates with a...cell phone they can actually plug into that data network, and whatever robot shows up with the capability, they can leverage it instantaneously.”

Autonomous systems will become even more important when network access is blocked by adversary electronic-warfare capabilities, said one former senior defense official who worked to field AI software to U.S. and allied forces.

“The next step is getting these systems to true autonomy that can handle the operating environment. In any conflict, GPS and comms will be denied and degraded. We see it today in Ukraine and the Middle East, and it's a certainty in any future fight,” they said.

Buy the brains and body separately

Another lesson comes from the auto industry, which has turned to external partners for its autonomy needs.

By contrast, the former senior official said, “The Department has mostly asked industry to self-organize to deliver autonomy alongside the vehicle.” For example, Pentagon buyers seeking autonomous drones have simply asked manufacturers to build autonomous versions of their remote-controlled aircraft.

That’s the wrong approach, the former official said. Drone makers “build excellent platforms, but autonomy is its own discipline. Commercial self-driving figured this out years ago: the automakers build great vehicles and partner with autonomy companies for the driver,” they said. “Defense needs the same model.”

Make it modular

The former official added that Pentagon buyers should specify that the autonomy package should be modular—that is, able to be upgraded as threats change and technology improves.

That’s true not just for individual weapons, but across the force and indeed across alliances, they said. “Open standards are what make that partnership work at scale.”

This was underscored by a recent NATO experiment in Portugal. In September, the alliance’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, or CMRE, wrapped up its biggest annual exercise: Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems. This year’s edition featured a demonstration that showed what an Autonomous Warfare Command will look to replicate: robots receiving orders not from humans but from software.

“For the first time, we had materialized our vision for future operations. We had algorithms looking at what the mission was looking like and automatically giving tasks to drones,” said João Alves, a principal scientist at CMRE.

That wasn’t the result of a new sensor or piece of AI software but rather a policy change: partner militaries agreeing to adopt a standard for the systems that they were buying.

Instill trust

The biggest challenge any military office, command, or unit will face when using autonomous weapons is knowing when to rely on them.

That’s the big conclusion of a 2017 study of autonomy safety failures involving Patriot missile batteries.The most dramatic case was the 2003 downing of an F-18 by a Patriot in Iraq.

“The tactical director at the battalion command and control node gave the order, ‘Bring your launchers to ready.’ That directive was tantamount to an order to engage. But that was not what the tactical director intended,” Army engineering psychologist John Hawley wrote in the study.

Even with everything else in place—a specific mission, open standards, and shared data, the right training—the biggest challenge any command or unit faces when employing autonomy is “sustained high reliability in a complex and unpredictable operational setting,” Hawley concludes.

That same question—does this software program understand what I intend it to do?—has only grown more urgent with each new instance of an AI software agent breaking the law in service of a poorly defined user request.

If AUTOWARCOM is to set a course for the military, its leaders must recognize why previous efforts in autonomy succeeded or failed, and acknowledge that human trust can’t be automated.

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MAPS protest ruling exposes FAR overhaul’s clause confusion

Nick Wakeman — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:23:17 -0400

In setting up its MAPS professional services contract, the Army used parts of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul in some areas of the solicitation and traditional FAR requirements in other parts.

That led four companies to lodge protests, where they complained that the Army caused confusion as industry was preparing bids for the Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services.

The Government Accountability Office was left to sort that out. GAO came down in favor of the Army, but the ruling still shows the risks involved as the market transitions to a new FAR.

GAO released its redacted decision on Tuesday that covers protests from Kearney & Co., NextGen Federal Systems, Integral Federal and Alpha Tech Alliance. GAO denied all four challenges on Sept. 21 and those decisions cleared the last of the protests against MAPS.

The most consequential part of the ruling involves an argument GAO could have thrown out.

Alpha Tech, a mentor-protégé joint venture of Synertex and Titan Technologies, argued the solicitation was internally inconsistent.

Some clauses were tagged as RFO deviations and others carried standard FAR clauses. One clause even appeared in both versions.

GAO said that even though Alpha Tech was too late to raise that argument, which was lodged more than a month after proposals closed, the watchdog agency decided on the issue anyway under its "significant issue" exception.

GAO said the intermingling of the codified FAR and RFO class deviations is of widespread interest to the procurement community, and that it had not addressed the question before.

The challenged clauses were either unchanged by the RFO or substantively identical in both versions. GAO ultimately sided with the Army.

But GAO also acknowledged that the class deviation process may leave offerors unable to determine from a solicitation which version of a clause applies. GAO characterized Alpha Tech's complaint as frustration with a systemic lack of clarity rather than a concrete defect in MAPS.

GAO also noted that the FAR Council's formal rulemaking so far skips parts 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. Those are the rules that govern most federal buying, from schedule orders to negotiated procurements to task order competitions.

GAO's overall verdict on the solicitation was blunt -- MAPS is "not a model of clarity," but is clear enough to pass muster.

The oversight agency also rejected challenges to how the Army bundled its requirements and the impact that would have on small businesses.

MAPS combines the RS3 and ITES-3S vehicles and will become the Army's primary contract for staff augmentation and technology support. MAPS has a five-year base and a single five-year option.

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Air Force Research Laboratory permanently deletes $10B vehicle

Ross Wilkers — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:15:15 -0400

The Air Force Research Laboratory has decided it will no longer use a single contract to acquire a broad range of unclassified research-and-development support from industry.

Back in May, AFRL decided to go back down the path of a potential $10 billion science and technology contract after it pulled the plug on the vehicle in January. AFRL’s first cancellation of the contract was followed by a re-evaluation of the requirements and acquisition strategy.

AFRL has since decided to discontinue the multiple-award contract altogether after a review of market feedback and evolving mission requirements, the lab said in a Monday Sam.gov notice.

Setting up a “a single, overarching enterprise indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) would introduce administrative friction and timelines that would not align with our technology delivery benchmarks,” the lab said. “AFRL’s partnerships are best served by using flexible, agile, and immediately available acquisition pathways.”

AFRL cited commercial solutions openings, pitch days and modular prototyping agreements as examples of such pathways that it can execute contracts through in weeks versus months or years.

The lab will also continue to use vehicles specific to technical disciplines like aerospace and information, other transaction authority contracts, and Phase III direct awards through Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer contracts.

Government-wide contract vehicles will also be an option for AFRL, when it decides that broader commercial research-and-development services are appropriate.

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DHS kicks its network, cloud and cyber consolidation vehicle down the road

Ross Wilkers — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:13:21 -0400

The Homeland Security Department is working on a new timeline for its planned contract to bundle network security, cloud computing and cybersecurity services requirements into a single mechanism.

DHS previously eyed late November as its deadline to make awards for the Network Operations Security Center Network, Cloud, and Cyber Services 2.0 contract. Oct. 1 was the intended date to release the final solicitation, while bids for the two-phase evaluation process would have been respectively due on Oct. 6 (today) and Oct. 21.

Now the department is revising its anticipated schedule for NCCS 2.0 to a later timeframe and industry should monitor Sam.gov for further updates, DHS said in a Monday notice to that portal.

DHS is setting up NCCS 2.0 contract as a centralized contract for acquiring IT service management support across the department’s network infrastructure, cloud and platform services, and cybersecurity functions.

The department currently acquires those services on more of a component-level basis and instead wants a single structure over its entire IT environment.

Leidos, General Dynamics and Peraton are among the companies holding various pieces of legacy contracts being folded into NCCS 2.0. Leidos currently performs the core network security operations center services under a short-term bridge order.

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FBI removes Accenture employee after missed security patch led to breach

David DiMolfetta — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:08:00 -0400

The FBI has cut ties with an Accenture employee who worked on a bureau contract amid a massive cybercrime intrusion that may have exposed data on thousands of FBI personnel, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Prolific cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the hack last month. The data stolen contained employees’ addresses, phone numbers and information on their spouses, among other categories. It also revealed sensitive data on employees’ intelligence and surveillance roles, as well as private medical information.

Accenture is responsible for software patch management and maintaining custom code at the FBI, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the situation is sensitive. Oracle — whose PeopleSoft platform was the initial access point that ShinyHunters claimed to have exploited — provided the security patches that were not integrated, the person added.

FBI cybersecurity chief Brett Leatherman confirmed the removal of an unnamed contractor in a statement to Nextgov/FCW.

“To date, our review has determined that the incident occurred as the result of a security failure of a platform managed by a third-party organization — after a contractor failed to implement a security patch explicitly issued to secure the platform,” Leatherman said. “As such, the FBI has removed the contractor and taken all necessary steps to both mitigate any further risk and protect our workforce.”

The remarks offer the bureau’s clearest explanation yet of how the intrusion occurred, though they do not address why the patch was missed and how the FBI monitored the contractor’s work to ensure systems holding sensitive employee information were protected.

Reuters first reported the removal late Monday. The specific Accenture employee could not be immediately identified.

In a statement, the company said it’s “proud to support the mission of the FBI and will continue to do so.”

The breach follows recent findings from Google’s Mandiant that ShinyHunters had resumed widespread exploitation of a PeopleSoft vulnerability for which Oracle issued a patch in June.

The incident poses serious counterintelligence risks because the exposed records could help foreign intelligence services identify employees working on sensitive investigations and exploit personal information about them.

ShinyHunters has said it would not publish the stolen data, but its statement did not say the records had been deleted. Retired Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, who previously led the Defense Information Systems Agency, told Nextgov/FCW last week that the group could still sell some or all of the information to foreign intelligence services or other buyers.

Authorities have also moved against suspected members of the group. Dutch police last week announced the arrest of an alleged leader, and Reuters reported Saturday that another suspected member, Saif al-Din Khader, had been detained in Jordan and was helping investigators locate other hackers.

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Veterans Affairs tests the market for Microsoft alternatives

Nick Wakeman — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:54:11 -0400

The Department of Veterans Affairs has kicked off a market research effort to look at the potential costs of replacing some or all of the Microsoft products under VA's enterprise agreement with the company.

The department has identified key capabilities under its current agreement including productivity and collaboration, identity and access management, and unified endpoint management.

A request for information posted Monday says VA has more than 540,000 users of its productivity and collaboration tools including email, file storage and video conferencing.

VA wants industry input on whether the requirements are too restrictive and create long-term vendor lock-in or limit VA’s ability to migrate away from a solution in the future.

This is still just market research effort and it is too soon to point to this as VA wanting to move away from Microsoft.

The RFI was released Oct. 5 and the deadline for responses is Oct. 16, a short turnaround time when you consider the details VA is asking for.

VA wants respondents to provide a “detailed Bill of Materials (BOM) that includes part numbers, quantities and a description of all products required to fulfill the functional/technical requirements for the key capability area in the form of a quote that includes pricing per part number.”

VA also wants data that will support its “should-cost” analysis. This includes a breakdown of the drivers underlying pricing for items such as infrastructure, labor, and licensing.

That information could indicate that VA is looking for information it can leverage in any renegotiations with Microsoft.

VA also is opening areas for specific non-Microsoft solutions for productivity, security and identity. Vendors can respond on any one, several or all of the capability areas.

The RFI also asks in several places for respondents to describe how different products from different vendors would be integrated.

“Our research is being conducted under a solution-agnostic process… independent of incumbent vendor or platform,” the RFI states.

VA is also lowering one of the biggest barriers for vendors new to the federal market. The RFI points to a July 28 VA policy memo that says alternative solutions do not need an existing FedRAMP authorization to be considered.

VA will instead judge security against NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 and its own directives. Any solution would have to earn a VA authority to operate before running in production.

The department targets an ATO decision within 60 days of a system meeting intake requirements, though that "reflects a service level target only and does not guarantee a favorable authorization outcome."

That could open the door to commercial vendors that have not gone through FedRAMP's lengthy and expensive authorization process.

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Operations, finance and tech leadership moves across the market

Ross Wilkers — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:49:02 -0400

Agile Space Industries

Jason Wright has joined the venture-backed maker of rocket engines and other in-space propulsion systems as president, a role he brings 25 years of experience to.

Wright’s responsibilities at include day-to-day management of operations across the company’s various locations, plus deliveries on current contracts. He most recently spent 26 years at Lockheed Martin.

Agile Space employs 165 people and y closed a $17 million Series A equity capital raise in February.

Appian

Jason Adolf has moved into the role of senior vice president for public sector customer success at the enterprise software company, where he has been for close to a decade.

The two-decade technology veteran most recently worked as vice president of global public sector at Appian.

Adolf announced his new role in a LinkedIn post.

Aurelius Systems

Brice Cooper has joined the directed energy technology company as chief strategy officer, a role he brings 25 years of experience to.

Cooper will lead corporate strategy, business development, government relations, and strategic growth initiatives to aid Aurelius efforts’ at scaling its technology and operations across domestic and international markets.

His career includes roles at Anduril, Velo3D, Allen Control Systems and Marque Ventures. He also led a product portfolio team at Special Operations Command.

B Technology

Craig Miller has joined the IT infrastructure and cybersecurity services provider as senior vice president of growth, a role he brings three decades of experience to.

Miller most recently spent 10 years at Deloitte, where he helped lead large technology transformation efforts across the public sector.

B Technology announced the hire in a LinkedIn post.

Booz Allen Hamilton

Michael Brasseur, who founded the Navy’s first dedicated unit for unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, has joined the company as an executive vice president for its defense technology business.

Under his leadership, Task Force 59 evolved from concept to full operational capability in 18 months. Brasseur served 26 years in the Navy altogether.

He most recently worked as chief strategy officer for Saab’s U.S. defense subsidiary.

C5MI

Eddie Mobley has joined this provider of IT and supply chain software solutions as chief growth officer, a role that includes business development and marketing functions.

Mobley will also lead C5MI’s efforts in alliances, pre-sale work, solution architecture, pipeline conversion and pursuit decisions.

He most recently worked as an executive vice president at All.Space Networks, where he led business development functions for its U.S. government business.

Factory

Connor Maloney has joined the artificial intelligence research lab as head of federal to lead its entry into the U.S. government landscape.

Maloney most recently worked as vice president of federal at Rubrik. He also built and led federal-facing teams at ServiceNow and DataRobot.

“Autonomous software engineering, led by Factory, will be a critical technology in the next era of public-sector innovation, and we are investing significantly in this next chapter,” Factory’s chief revenue officer Marcello Gallo wrote in a LinkedIn post.

HII

Greg Ennis has moved up to the chief financial officer post at the shipbuilder’s mission technologies segment, which houses the software and unmanned systems portfolios.

Ennis will also hold a senior vice president title in his new position, which he brings 25 years of experience to. He most recently worked as vice president and controller for the segment.

He joined HII in 2019 through its acquisition of Fulcrum IT, where he was corporate controller.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Bill Wilson has moved up to president of the C5ISR systems division at the military technology company, which he joined in 2010 via its acquisition of Gichner Systems Group.

Wilson now leads Kratos’ mil-spec hardware and mobility systems portfolio. He also added the title of corporate senior vice president with this promotion.

He most recently was executive vice president and chief financial officer for the C5ISR systems division.

MAG

Ronald LeClere has joined the provider of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services as chief financial officer after three decades at other companies in the market.

LeClere most recently worked as chief financial officer at QinetiQ Group’s U.S. subsidiary for two years. He first joined QinetiQ US in 2023 as a vice president.

He is also a former CFO for Halfaker and Associates, which Science Applications International Corp. acquired in 2021. He then joined SAIC as vice president of finance and worked in that role for two years.

PCI Federal

Neil Kronimus has joined the government services company as vice president of IT, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

“His vision is to make technology a strategic growth engine that enables secure mission delivery, accelerates business development, and positions PCI Federal for continued success,” PCI Federal said in a LinkedIn post on Kronimus.

Kronimus most recently worked as senior vice president of technology strategy and solutions at Maximus. His career also includes tech leadership roles at Sev1Tech, CSRA and Camber Corp.

Quantum Space

The soon-to-be public company has added a chief people officer and chief legal officer to its senior leadership team ahead of that planned listing.

Blake Ranney will lead Quantum Space’s talent function as CPO and brings 16 years of human resources experience to his new role. He most recently worked as director of HR people partners at Global Payments Inc.

Patrick Monaghan will oversee Quantum Space’s legal function and brings two decades of experience to the role. He most recently worked as CLO at SADA.

Jim Bridenstine, Quantum Space’s CEO, announced the hires in a LinkedIn post.

Reinaert

Theresa Campobasso has joined the technical services provider as chief strategy officer, a role she brings two decades of military and industry experience to.

“Theresa will lead company strategy, helping align Reinaert’s capabilities, partnerships, and growth with the evolving needs of government and commercial customers. Her focus will be on translating complex challenges into practical, mission-focused solutions across security, logistics, training, and risk management,” Reinaert said in a LinkedIn post.

Campobasso’s career includes senior roles at Aardwolf Global Solutions and Exiger. She is also a former Marine Corps intelligence officer.

Singularity Defense

Peter Schumacher has joined the maker of counter-weapon systems as chief operating officer, a role he brings 24 years of experience to.

Schumacher most recently spent 11 years at AE Industrial Partners, which participated in Singularity’s $60 million Series A capital raise that closed in the summer.

While at AE Industrial, he helped stand up the investment firm’s venture capital arm and has worked with dozens of its portfolio companies on their strategies.

Terran Orbital

Jamin Brown has joined this satellite manufacturing subsidiary of Lockheed Martin as chief operating officer, a role he brings two decades of experience from the parent company to.

Brown will lead efforts to expand Terran Orbital’s production capacity. He most recently worked as vice president of missile defense programs and Huntsville, Alabama site general manager for Lockheed’s space segment.

Lockheed acquired Terran Orbital in 2024 after several years of investments in it through the defense giant’s venture capital arm.

Thomson Reuters

Patrick Eveland has moved up to president of the government business at the technology conglomerate, where he has spent the past 22 years.

He most recently worked as general manager for government legal markets and is also a former sales director for Thomson Reuters, also in government markets.

Eveland announced his new role in a LinkedIn post.

Leidos

Jeff McElfresh, a three-decade AT&T veteran and currently its chief operating officer, has joined the government contractor’s board of directors as an independent member.

Leidos’ board grows from 10 members to 11 with its appointment of McElfresh. He will sit on the corporate governance and ethics committee, plus the technology and information security committee.

McElfresh has worked as AT&T’s COO for the past four years and is overseeing a $250 billion initiative focused on transforming its connectivity infrastructure.

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SAIC buys ISC to bulk up quantum-ready encryption tech

Nick Wakeman — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:31:58 -0400

Science Applications International Corp. has moved to expand its zero-trust, quantum and encryption technology capabilities by acquiring a developer of cryptographic software.

SAIC has acquired Information Security Corp. in what executives are calling a “tuck-in” buy. Terms of the transaction announced Monday were not disclosed.

ISC’s capabilities include public key infrastructure, encryption, and credential management software. ISC provides cryptographic building blocks needed to assure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data.

“Integrating ISC’s mission-proven cryptographic technologies with SAIC’s pedigree of delivering and operating robust zero-trust architectures provides our intelligence and defense customers with the security and scalability to protect against rapidly evolving threats,” SAIC CEO Jim Reagan said in a release.

ISC builds its products to help customers modernize their cryptographic infrastructure and transition to post-quantum cryptography, SAIC said in its announcement. The CertAgent product has been on the National Security Agency’s Commercial Solutions for Classified Components List for more than a decade.

"SAIC will combine ISC’s capabilities and talent in a way that best supports our customers and growth strategy," a company spokeswoman said. "The focus is on ensuring ISC’s capabilities are effectively aligned within SAIC to maximize impact."

All of ISC employees and leaders have moved over to SAIC through the acquisition.

“For more than three decades, our team has built innovative products to solve some of our customers’ most difficult security challenges. Joining SAIC gives us the opportunity to build on that work and bring ISC’s technology to more customers and more missions,” said Jonathan Schulze-Hewett, vice president of development at ISC.

ISC describes its technology as deeply embedded across the U.S. intelligence community and the Defense Department for identity, authentication and data protection usage.

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WT 360: Nextgov/FCW’s Christian Robles on OneGov, AI, Medicaid tech and Flock cameras

Ross Wilkers and Christian Robles — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 06:00:00 -0400

All three frontier artificial intelligence companies now have either have new agreements in place or extensions to their current pacts as part of OneGov: the government’s initiative for consolidating its brand name tech purchases.

Christian Robles, who reports on technology policy and service delivery at Nextgov/FCW, joins for this episode to provide the details of who signed with the General Services Administration and for what. Not every agreement is exactly alike regarding the length of time and terms for usage and cost, as Christian told our Ross Wilkers.

Christian also goes over a GSA-Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services partnership that strives to connect states with products via the federal Schedules program, and how license plate reading systems are starting to enter society’s tech regulation chat.

Connect with Christian on Twitter at @crobles8gsa08. If you have a tip you'd like to share, Christian can be securely contacted at crobles808.12 on Signal.

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General Dynamics names Nedzbala interim IT president as Gilliland departs

Ross Wilkers — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:31:28 -0400

General Dynamics has appointed Paul Nedzbala to lead the defense company’s IT services business unit as interim president following the abrupt departure of Amy Gilliland.

Gilliland has worked as GDIT’s president since 2017 and is “no longer with the company,” General Dynamics said in a Friday afternoon release. She first joined General Dynamics in 2005 and was GDIT’s lead operations executive before her promotion to president.

"We thank Amy for her contributions to our company and wish her all the best in her future endeavors," GD CEO Phebe Novakovic said in the release.

Gilliland’s run as president began with the integration of CSRA, which GDIT acquired in 2018 for $9.7 billion, and included this year’s launch of a new technology strategy as a follow-on to a 2023 blueprint that created several digital accelerators.

GDIT reported $9 billion in revenue for 2025, up from $8.7 billion for 2024 and $8.4 billion for 2023. General Dynamics Corp. hit Position No. 5 on the 2026 Washington Technology Top 100, our ranking calculated from unclassified prime IT and professional services contract obligations.

Nezbala moves up to interim president nine months after he was appointed chief business officer, a role that tasked him with leading corporate development strategies and operations. He joined GDIT via the acquisition of CSRA, where he led the health and civil group.

"Paul is a proven leader who bring decades of experience in federal IT services," Novakovic said. "We are grateful for his willingness to serve in an interim capacity until a new GDIT president is named."

Officials at General Dynamics and GDIT declined to comment beyond the announcement.

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Justice agrees to take another look at $1B asset forfeiture support contract

Nick Wakeman — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:00:00 -0400

The Justice Department is rethinking a $1 billion award for asset forfeiture support services following a protest that questioned several aspects of the evaluation.

Forfeiture Support Associates, a joint venture owned by Amentum and Science Applications International Corp., has held the contract since 2004 and won the recompete in late August. Amentum and SAIC have become the JV partners through a series of acquisition and spinoff transactions over several years.

After Justice awarded FSA the new contract, KACE Co. filed a protest to challenge the department's evaluation of proposals and award decision. KACE also took issue with the department's responsibility determination.

The Government Accountability Office dismissed the protest on Sept. 23, when Justice told GAO it would pull back the award to re-evaluate proposals and make a new award decision.

Justice uses the contract to provide administrative, clerical and profession service to support their asset forfeiture processes. About 1,400 contractors to provide support at 490 locations around the country.

The contract has a five-year term.

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Blackstone's new defense tech company and more capital markets action to highlight

Ross Wilkers — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:30:00 -0400

Falcata

This new defense technology company has taken flight with the backing of Blackstone, which formed it through the acquisition and combination of TSC and Applied Systems Engineering.

Falcata describes its tech portfolio as including seekers, radar technologies, guidance electronics, control actuation systems, GPS-denied navigation, ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and launchers.

Falcata’s strategy centers around bringing those technologies together to cover the entire guidance chain for interceptors, which are necessary for fending off aerial threats such as drones and missiles.

Brandon Wolfson, chief executive of TSC since 2018, has been appointed CEO of the combined company. Wolfson is a 25-year veteran of TSC.

Jonathan Moneymaker, who led BlueHalo as CEO through its sale to AeroVironment in 2025, has been appointed chairman of the board of directors at Falcata.

Goldman Sachs is the exclusive financial adviser to Blackstone, whose legal counsel on the transaction is Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

Fortem Technologies

The maker of sensors and software for securing airspace from unauthorized drones has completed a $50 million Series B capital raise to accelerate its manufacturing and deployment efforts.

Lockheed Martin led the Series B round, which closed six months after the world’s largest investment company invested $25 million into Fortem as part of the initial tranche. Unusual Machines and other investors also participated.

Fortem opened for business in 2016 and specializes in counter-unmanned aerial systems technology, which includes radar sensors and command-and-control software that use artificial intelligence. The company’s DroneHunter system works as an autonomous interceptor in layered defense systems.

With this newfound investment, Fortem will work to expand its capacities for manufacturing and deploying its SkyDome family of systems for monitoring civilian airspace.

In August, Fortem became the only small business to receive selection for the Homeland Security Department’s potential $1.5 billion C-UAS contract.

Fortem’s federal portfolio also includes an Army contract to defend installations and a DHS award for protecting 2026 FIFA World Cup venues. Lockheed uses Fortem’s technology for a broader C-UAS architecture called Sanctum.

Hertha Metals

This steel producer has collected $133.65 million in Series A capital from investors, including a $65 million equity investment from the U.S. government.

Hertha Capital was founded in 2022 by CEO Dr. Laureen Meroueh to product high-purity iron that is used to manufacture rare earth magnets, which are widely used in defense and technology sectors.

The Defense Department is backing Hertha Metals through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, which is intended to help address supply chain vulnerabilities and develop a skilled industrial workforce.

DOD’s investment in Hertha Metals is part of larger efforts by the U.S. government to establish domestic sources for the iron needed for magnets, substantially all of which are currently imported.

Hertha Berlin is using the newfound capital to build Hertha Chalyz, a facility for producing 10,000 tons of steel-grade and magnet-grade high purity iron.

Khosla Ventures and Doerr Capital co-led the Series A round with participation from CEV, Pear Ventures, Gates Frontier, Niterra SUISO no MORI Fund (General Partner: Global Brain), Toyota Ventures and Siemens Financial Services.

Varda Space Industries

This in-space manufacturing startup has fetched $250 million in Series D capital from investors to support the next phase of its strategy focused on pharmaceuticals and hypersonic research.

Varda opened for business in 2021 and has achieved six successful launches of its W-series vehicle since then.

The company has predominantly focused on drug manufacturing in space as a more novel approach that crystallizes active ingredients in ways impossible on Earth.

Varda’s orbital capsule is designed to enter the atmosphere at 18,000 miles per hour and hit a speed of Mach 25+ before parachuting back to Earth.

A dozen more launches and re-entries of the W-series vehicles are planned through 2028.

Lux Capital and Natural Capital led the Series D round. Other participants included Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, 8090 Industries, Giant Step, and Also Capital.

Astro Digital

This satellite maker has found a transaction partner to help take it public against a backdrop of heightened investor interest in space and defense companies.

Astro Digital plans to merge with Proem Acquisition Corp. I, a blank check or Special Purpose Acquisition Company, and then list on the NASDAQ stock market.

All parties involved expect the listing to happen in the first quarter of 2027, while Astro Digital’s co-founder and CEO Chris Biddy will continue to lead the company.

Astro Digital opened for business in 2018 and says it has delivered nearly 40 satellites to 30 customers, including NASA and the Defense Department. The satellites are designed for missions such as Earth observation, communications, space infrastructure and defense.

Astro Digital posted $34 million in revenue for 2025 and expects to record $50 million in sales this year with an eye toward hitting $500 million on the top line by 2032. The SPAC merger values Astro Digital at a pro forma post-money enterprise value of approximately $587 million, while also giving the company $180 million in gross proceeds assuming no redemptions.

That $180 million figure includes $130 million held in Proem's trust account and $50 million from PIPE investments led by Proem Asset Management and Leon Capital Group.

Broadfield US is legal counsel to Astro Digital. Clear Street is financial and capital markets adviser to Proem, and Loeb & Loeb LLP is legal counsel to Proem.

RedLattice

This developer of cyber intelligence technology has also agreed on a transaction that will take it to the public markets with the intent of listing before the year ends.

RedLattice plans to merge with blank check company Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp. and then list on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker symbol “REDL.”

All parties involved expect the listing to happen before the end of this year, while CEO Andy Boyd will continue to lead RedLattice.

RedLattice is backed by the private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, which acquired majority ownership of the company in 2023. AE Industrial will continue to be RedLattice’s largest shareholder after transaction closes.

RedLattice opened for business in 2012 and designs its tech to help government agencies with efforts in lawful intercept, research and intelligence gathering. The company touted $267 million in revenue for the 12-month period ended June 30 and a contract backlog of roughly $200 million.

The transaction values RedLattice at a pre-money enterprise value of $1.25 billion. RedLattice expects to receive up to $610 million in gross proceeds, a figure that includes $335 million in committed capital from new and existing investors, plus $275 million from Bold Eagle’s trust account assuming no redemptions.

Goldman Sachs is the exclusive financial and capital markets adviser to Bold Eagle. Jefferies is the exclusive financial and capital markets adviser to RedLattice. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies LLC are also the placement agents. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is legal adviser to RedLattice, White & Case LLP is legal advisor to Bold Eagle, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is legal adviser to the placement agents.

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