QUICK HITS
Is DISA in your pipeline? Keep your eye out for their FY27 forecast on November 16.
HHS really prefers Claude AI. The agency awarded Anthropic a sole-source contract ahead of a competitive BPA.
RIP CIO-SP3. NITAAC will permanently sunset its GWACS on October 29.
Your cyber patch schedule is no match for AI: Chinese hackers used AI to conduct a largely autonomous cyber espionage campaign.
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DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
Move over, repair manuals. AI’s got this.
The Army is piloting an AI-powered maintenance platform that lets soldiers troubleshoot equipment, document repairs, check parts inventories, and consult logistics experts without paper manuals. Developed by Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), the system has digitized 250 technical manuals and gathered feedback from 4,000 users, with plans to predict equipment failures.
Pentagon launches competition for the first new military installation in 40 years.
The Pentagon’s Next Great American Base initiative is a merit-based nationwide competition to build the first new US military installation in 40 years, engineered to operate completely off the commercial grid with independent power, autonomous systems, and advanced air defenses. The effort is underpinned by Fortress America, which requires every major US installation to generate its own power.
Army xTechHumanoid: Exploring military applications for humanoid robots.
The Terminator can wait: The Army’s xTechHumanoid competition drew 103 submissions and named five winners: ACES Group, IHMC Robotics, Hydroplane, Ras Labs, and Velocity Explorations. IHMC’s senior researcher was candid about the technology: “You don’t have a robot that can run 28 miles an hour while carrying 50 pounds and operating for 24 hours.” For now, the Army is figuring out what humanoid robots can actually do before Skynet takes over.
ICYMI:
USAF RFI: Mobile Diagnostics and Integration (MDI) Service Support.
Army Draft RFP: $1.52B Human Resource Solutions, GEN VI IDIQ.
Autonomous systems contract with USN grew fourfold as the US looks to use AI at sea to outmaneuver China.
Maritime autonomy competition moves forward: DIU has revealed Ph2.
Defense Contract Awards
Enlighten IT, a HII company, won a $333M USAF Enterprise Service Solution CSO deal.
Core Services Group won a $264M OPTEVFOR and VX-1 Technical and Analytical Support contract.
Akima secured a $50M Next Gen Digital Infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Mission Systems Sustainment contract.
Authentic8 Inc. won a $308M mod to provide Silo software, services.
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Defense Job Openings
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CHART
Center for Strategic & International Studies. “How Quickly Can the DOD Rebuild and Recast the Munitions Industrial Base?” August 25, 2026. (Source)
INTEL COMMUNITY
USSF's CENTCOM component plans major workforce expansion.
The USSF’s component supporting CENTCOM expects to grow to roughly five times its current size within three years as demand for space capabilities in the Middle East continues to rise. Activated in 2022 with about 30 personnel, SPACECENT says it needs more staff to support planning, intelligence, and 24/7 operations.
China tops Army threat list in new combat guidance.
The Army’s new “How the Army Fights” guidance names China as the top threat and introduces TAP2E, a prepositioned stockpile concept spanning Japan to the Philippines. It calls for long-range precision strikes against Chinese missile and maritime targets in the Western Pacific and warns that the U.S. homeland “is no longer a sanctuary,” citing threats to domestic rail, ports, and mobilization systems.
ICYMI:
TRANSCOM RFI: Cyberspace Operations Forces, Support (COF) II.
NATO RFI: Integrated Cyber Defense Center Urgent Requirement Project.
ARCYBER formed an agentic workforce to strengthen cyber protection team operations.
Russia-linked hackers target defense contractors in two NATO countries.
STOPSO inked a USARC DCO Mission Support contract.
GRVTY appointed a former Guggenheim Securities managing director as its newest CDO.
ODNI is looking for a Budget Execution Division Chief.
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CIVILIAN
GAO 2027-2032 strategic plan targets AI, cybersecurity, fraud, and fiscal accountability.
GAO released its Strategic Plan for 2027 to 2032, built around three cross-cutting goals covering federal savings, fraud and waste reduction, and workforce and technology modernization. The plan puts new emphasis on AI, quantum computing, and emerging technologies as oversight priorities. Since 2002, GAO’s work has generated more than $1.51 trillion in financial benefits and 30,800 program improvements. (Get the plan here.)
FEMA scraps jet plan as DHS’s $1.6B aircraft fleet sits mostly unused.
FEMA posted a solicitation for two military-grade executive jets with laser mapping without DHS leadership approval. DHS pulled the solicitation within hours and said disciplinary action would be taken. The development drew attention to DHS’s broader aviation spending, including $465M on eight Boeing 737s and two Gulfstreams purchased for deportation operations, none of which have conducted a deportation flight since acquisition.
GSA: Year two is about taking big steps, not just experiments.
GSA’s Administrator says the agency is moving beyond testing new ideas to delivering faster results, with initiatives like Project 410 challenging employees to accelerate modernization. Meanwhile, GSA Labs has selected 25 employees from more than 300 applicants to tackle agency challenges, improve interoperability, and streamline government operations.
ICYMI:
DHS RFI: eDiscovery Platform with Super Intelligence and Agentic SI.
DOJ RFI: IT Systems Enterprise Modernization.
NASA’s NIAC Phase I (FY2027) is open.
DHS bars DeepSeek from all federal civilian agency use.
Power companies in the US and EU are scrutinizing their supply chains for Chinese components as grid security concerns drive new regulations.
Civilian Contracts Awards
SGL360 was awarded a VA contract for Rideshare services supporting VHA Homeless Program Veterans.
IBM booked a $10M TOP and DPAS Mainframe Cloud Transition deal.
TTW Solutions won an EPA GRTS and WGD App Suite IT Support deal.
Follow Civilian Leaders
Civilian Job Openings
M&A CORNER
Maximus to buy Agile Defense in push into defense and national security.
Maximus announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Agile Defense, a government technology contractor, for $660M in cash. Agile Defense brings established defense and national security customer relationships, strengthened capabilities in cybersecurity and the intelligence community, approved systems, contract vehicles, distinctive growth model, and approximately 1,100 cleared personnel.
TTM Technologies acquires Ophir Optics to add thermal imaging and laser optics.
TTM Technologies signed a definitive agreement to acquire MKS Inc.’s Ophir Optics unit for approximately $650M in cash, adding precision infrared thermal imaging and laser optics to its defense portfolio. Ophir serves land, air, sea, and uncrewed platforms with production sites in Israel and Romania.
NexTech acquires Halcyon Days in its sixth deal since 2023.
NexTech Solutions acquired Halcyon Days Consulting, a firm whose Team Awareness Kit tactical networks already run NexTech’s VidTerra COMPASS video software. The deal adds more than 90 engineers, operators, and mission specialists, plus networks currently serving roughly 20,000 users across 15,000 managed devices in Eastern Europe and the Pacific.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
Copy the Pentagon’s Project Meridian? Think tank urges China to build its own advanced warfare program free from US-style conflicts. SOURCE↗︎
Who ordered the slowdown of Starlink in Ukraine last week? The WSJ reports that Musk ordered the speed cap after chatting with the W.H. SOURCE↗︎
AI isn’t the mysterious genius we thought it was. Turns out the AI black box might have an instruction manual after all. SOURCE↗︎
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