QUICK HITS
SBA 8(a) guidance update: New standards for proving disadvantage.
Cyber policy shift: White House outlines six‑pillar strategy.
Government by AI: USDOT plans to write regulations using AI.
FY26 federal market forecast: Deltek identifies major trends and contracting priorities.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
Reconciliation path to a $1.5T defense budget.
Analysts argue that achieving POTUS’s proposed $1.5T defense budget requires advancing a $600B increase through reconciliation—an approach that could secure timely funding for modernization and readiness despite potential congressional gridlock.
Golden Dome cost projections raise significant concerns.
A fiscal watchdog reports that the Golden Dome missile‑defense initiative may cost up to $3.6 trillion over 20 years and warns that substantial technical hurdles could undermine its reliability.
Pentagon underscores need for strengthened OT system security.
Pentagon leaders emphasize that increasingly interconnected operational technology systems now face more sophisticated cyber threats, requiring predictive monitoring, resilient architectures, and closer public‑private collaboration. With OT underpinning critical missions across domains, officials stress that securing these systems is now central to maintaining operational readiness.
ICYMI:
NAVSEA RFP: $7.1B Multiple-Award SEWIP FoS IDIQ.
Lockheed targets to gain most advanced F‑35 fleet in Asia‑Pacific by 2035.
Pentagon pushes for stronger competition in space industry.
DIU pursues commercial sensors for missile tracking.
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
GDMS named its CIO, VP of IT.
HumanTouch has a new President.
Defense Job Openings
USN is seeking a Surface Warfare Deputy Director.
USN’s FFC is hiring a Data Strategy Director.
TRIVIA 🤔
In 1980, the United States led a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Just click the choice you think is right & the correct answer will be shown. Scroll down to the bottom of this email for more information about the correct answer.
INTEL COMMUNITY
Why primary source collection is the future of threat intelligence.
Threat intel is having a reckoning, and the old model of recycled reports isn’t cutting it anymore. The piece makes the case that primary source collection—owning raw, real-time data instead of relying on third-party feeds—is becoming the key to faster, sharper, and more actionable threat intelligence.
ICYMI:
AI acceleration for SOCOM facility surveys.
FCC clears Logos to deploy more than 4,000 broadband satellites.
Whistleblower complaint centers on sharing of classified intelligence and reporting of a potential crime, which some lawmakers dismiss.
Ex-Google engineer guilty of selling AI trade secrets to China.
BAH booked a $392M USSOUTHCOM EDA contract.
Iron Legion JV secured a $265M USSOCOM Intelligence Support deal.
Vantor was awarded a $5.3M NGA Luno B contract.
GOVBREW INSIDER
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Our team uncovered 50+ upcoming IT services opportunities at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in this week's recompete report.
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CIVILIAN
House panel moves to codify W.H.’s AI strategy.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to codify most of the proposed AI Action Plan, focusing on tighter export controls, blocking Chinese military end users, and prioritizing U.S. access to advanced chips. Lawmakers say China is buying millions of chips, so Congress wants to lock in guardrails.
Federal CIO moves to modernize metrics and website design.
Federal CIO Barbaccia says static, one‑and‑done metrics are out, and outcome‑focused, adjustable metrics are in, finally treating policy like software that needs updates. He’s also pushing to streamline agency websites so citizens don’t need a roadmap to find basic services, with pilots already underway at CIO.gov.
GSA confronts readiness challenges amid acquisition overhaul.
The GSA’s rapid, 25% reduction of the FAR met its six‑month mandate, but the agency now faces a significant readiness challenge: retraining a procurement workforce reduced by 30%. Leaders note that workforce adaptation and not rulemaking, may be the defining test of this acquisition overhaul.
ICYMI:
DOE RFI: Records Management, Security Management System.
NASA wants feedback on civil space technology gaps.
DHS aims to recompete $100M CBP surveillance tower deal.
Civilian Contracts Awards
Follow Civilian Leaders
VA appointed a new OIT Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.
McChrystal Group welcomed a new Senior Advisor.
Civilian Job Openings
EPA needs a Deputy Office Director.
TREAS wants a Strategic Policy Director.
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M&A CORNER
CGI expands Atlanta footprint with Stratfield acquisition.
CGI is deepening its presence in Atlanta by acquiring Stratfield Consulting, adding nearly 200 consultants and boosting its local team to about 600. The deal brings Stratfield’s digital engineering and tech‑strategy expertise under CGI’s global delivery model.
Qualis, InTrack, Tektonux merge to form a new defense tech company.
Qualis, InTrack Radar Technologies, and Tektonux have merged to form a new company focused on modernizing missile defense, space domain awareness, and electronic warfare. Backed by Bluestone Investment Partners, the combined firm aims to accelerate technologies for ballistic missile warning and space surveillance.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
De-extinction advances! Colossal Biosciences launches modern-day “Noah’s Ark,” called a BioVault—”a true backup plan for life on Earth.” SOURCE↗︎
Netflix–Warner Bros merger has a major setback. Netflix is struggling to explain to lawmakers how the deal will benefit consumers, workers. SOURCE↗︎
PepsiCo faces backlash: Snack prices drop after criticism. SOURCE↗︎
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TRIVIA ANSWER ⭐️
C) President Jimmy Carter — Though the USOC technically decides on participation, Carter applied massive pressure to force the boycott—even threatening to revoke the USOC’s tax-exempt status and using the DOC to block NBC’s broadcast. It remains the ultimate example of the "Power of the Purse" meeting international diplomacy.
