QUICK HITS
W.H. announces AI Force and AI Czar: POTUS tweets about a new branch modeled on Space Force with an AI Czar and no real details yet.
Hidden FCA liability: CMMC self-attestation gaps can trigger treble damages when compliance claims aren't supported.
FAR 2.0 update: Parts 16, 17, and 35 are targeted for a major overhaul; comments are due October 19.
RIVR 2026: DHS S&T expands its remote identity verification competition to combat AI-generated fakes and deepfakes.
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GovCon's Benchmark Report Turns 10
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DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
SBA's Smaller War Plants Commission revives a WWII program to rebuild the defense industrial base.
SBA is dusting off a WWII-era playbook with its new Smaller War Plants Commission, pairing 90% loan guaranties with targeted contracting opportunities for small businesses in munitions, UAS, microelectronics, shipbuilding, and critical minerals. The SWPC will also leverage the new Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, a distributed network of commercial manufacturers who can pivot to defense production in a crisis.
Space Force plans to double in size with two-thirds of growth going to Combat Forces Command.
The USSF is planning to double its force over the next five years, backed by a $71.1B FY27 budget request. Two-thirds of the growth goes directly to Combat Forces Command to generate more combat crews and operational units for military space commanders. The expansion covers new offensive and defensive space-control capabilities, dispersed command nodes, and expanded training ranges.
Navy's submarine czar lays out four-pillar plan to build three boats a year by 2031.
The Navy's first-ever submarine czar unveiled a four-pillar plan to hit a production rate of two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class submarine per year by 2031. Pillar one is blunt: "We're done with engineering churn." No more design changes to Virginia unless safety demands it. Pillars two and three focus shipyards on assembly and expand the broader industrial base. Pillar four eyes the future SSN-X.
ICYMI:
USSF Space Safari RFI: USSF wants a maneuverable spacecraft ready for on-demand launch within 14 days by FY29. (RFI)
Baseline NGC2 capabilities are now being delivered to III Armored Corps.
DOD's energy expo: 100+ exhibits demonstrate innovations in everything from space microwave power to METEOR to Project VALKRE.
USSF is advancing its commercial satellite comms acquisition strategy through the SCAR program.
Defense Contract Awards
DSD Laboratories won a $60M USAF LogIT Agentic AI Sustainment and DevSecOps contract.
Air (formerly Govini) won a $42M USN Ark SaaS support deal.
Impulse Space inked a $28M Future USSF SDA Mission deal.
Drone Dominance Program announced contest winners and tapped five companies for a 60,000-drone contract.
Follow the Defense Leaders
USAF Platform One selected a CISO.
USN named a captain as its COI.
A new Pentagon homeland defense committee will be chaired by the Defense Secretary.
Defense Job Openings
CHART
GAO. Aviation Cybersecurity: Enhanced Air Safety Requires FAA to Better Mitigate Threats to Aircraft Communications. GAO-26-108439. Sept. 21, 2026. (Source)
INTEL COMMUNITY
Cybercrime group claims attack on FBI exposes almost all agents.
The FBI is investigating claims by cybercrime group ShinyHunters that it breached FBIJobs.gov, temporarily defaced the site and stole sensitive data on nearly all FBI agents and job applicants; the affected application portals remain offline. ShinyHunters says the attack was meant to pressure the FBI into changing or removing a public advisory about the group, though experts warn that directly targeting law enforcement could invite a major crackdown.
Pentagon drops sixth UAP file batch: warp drives, wormholes, and a 1952 film in the mix.
The DOD released its sixth UAP file batch, covering 71 records spanning 1952 to 2025, including 55 PDFs, 15 videos, and one audio file. The headline items are 37 Defense Intelligence Reference Documents covering warp drives, wormholes, antigravity, and invisibility cloaking from a DIA program shut down in 2012. Most had already been publicly available through FOIA releases. No evidence of extraterrestrial life was found.
ICYMI:
Not unsinkable: The 5 threats capable of taking down a US nuclear submarine.
SSC, DIU tapped NOC and True Anomaly for reconnaissance satellites, supporting the GHOST-R initiative, under the RG-XX program.
McAleese & Assoc. booked a WHS Industrial Base Analysis contract.
The USSF selected NOC to develop a space-based system for tracking ground and maritime targets from orbit as part of the RRS-G program.
DOS named its Deputy Assistant Secretary for Emerging Threats.
ODNI is looking for a Strategy Management Officer.
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CIVILIAN
W.H.’s draft E.O. aims to give political appointees veto power over NIH grants.
The W.H. is drafting an E.O. that would create a new board with veto power over NIH's $48B research portfolio, requiring unanimous approval from both the OMB Director and the NIH Director. The two have clashed openly, with Vought accusing Bhattacharya of funding diversity-related research despite an anti-DEI E.O. Two senators are pushing back, noting the CR already blocks OMB's proposed grant rule.
DOE funds 21 geothermal projects for EGS tests and exploration drilling.
DOE's Office of Geothermal is funding 21 projects to conduct field-scale enhanced geothermal systems tests and exploration drilling across 10 states. Five companies are running full-scale EGS field tests at depths and temperatures relevant to commercial development, and 16 projects are drilling to confirm promising resources. All data will be publicly available through DOE's Geothermal Data Repository.
Judge revives $7B Solar for All program.
A federal judge ruled that the EPA unlawfully canceled the $7 billion Solar for All program, clearing the way for grants to resume nationwide. The initiative was expected to support more than 900,000 households, save families $350 million annually on energy bills, and create up to 200,000 jobs.
ICYMI:
DHS RFP: NCCS 2.0. $626M single-award IDIQ for network, cloud, and cyber services; final RFP is due to drop October 1.
FAA launches SMART: AI platform goes live in DC airspace to cut delays by analyzing 200 data streams.
110 lawmakers to Congress: Reject the 2027 pay freeze and give federal workers at least a 3.8% raise.
Civilian Contracts Awards
ManTech secured a $307M CBP Business Intelligence contract.
Kaiva won a $33M FDA OFBA Budget and Acquisition Liaison deal.
Kaptivate booked a $20M ED Collaborative Ecosystem Development deal.
SHR won a $17M FEMA NFIP IT Cloud Support contract.
Wintrio was awarded a USDA NASS AG Insights Data Dissemination contract.
Follow Civilian Leaders
Civilian Job Openings
M&A CORNER
B&A acquires Intelligent Waves.
B&A completed its acquisition of Intelligent Waves, a provider of cybersecurity, secure communications, and mission technology for DOD and the IC. Intelligent Waves brings three proprietary platforms, GRAYPATH, Phantom, and STRIKE, plus covert managed attribution and tactical edge computing capabilities used across Special Operations Forces and the IC. DFW Capital Partners backs B&A.
Dragos closes NetRise and runZero acquisitions backed by Accenture's $4.1B investment.
Dragos completed its acquisitions of NetRise and runZero, closing the loop on Accenture's $4.1 billion deal that gave the firm a majority stake in Dragos plus full ownership of the two companies. The combined platform now covers OT threat detection, IT and OT asset visibility through runZero, and firmware and software supply chain security through NetRise. Together the three companies generated roughly $208 million in ARR as of June 2026, up 53% year over year.
ICYMI:
BlueGenAI rebrands and is now Veylo.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
Why are mathematicians hiding research results? Can science still function if companies say “trust us, we proved it, but we can’t show you how?” SOURCE↗︎
Wendy's franchise crisis. Meritage Hospitality Group—which owns 314 Wendy’s locations, files for bankruptcy as fast food struggles continue. SOURCE↗︎
[Watch] Can GLP-1 make you blind? Hundreds sue Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly over alleged failure to warn of the weight loss drugs’ blindness risks. SOURCE↗︎
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