DoD RDT&E Contracts with Bright Futures

While the topline funding for Air Force, Navy, and Army RDT&E programs is expected to decline slightly through FY28 that doesn’t mean that there aren’t bright spots of growth.

The top line decline is driven primarily by big initiatives like B-21, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), E-7, and Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) shifting from RDT&E to production spending, but those declines are also offset by growing programs like NGAD, CCA, Next-Generation Attack Submarine (SSN(X)), and FARA.

One area of interest to our team was finding RDT&E management and support contract positions that have upcoming award dates and are likely to have bright futures even with a declining or flat total budget. Of the many we identified, a few standouts included contracts to support the Army M-SHORAD Increment II effort to develop directed energy weapons, the Army Paladin modernization program, and the Air Force Next Generation Reentry Vehicle program to develop new payload systems for GBSD. All of these contracts may be small relative to other ongoing initiatives but given the outlook for the programs they have potential to become much more substantial.