Warfighting at Warp Speed, Part 5: Software Acquisitions at Speed and Scale
PilieroMazza has been covering the Department of War’s (DOW) acquisition overhaul since Secretary Hegseth’s November 2025 memorandum: “Transforming the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Capabilities.” Now, the Department of the Army (Army), via Army Directive 2026-19, Enabling Modern Software Acquisition Practices (the Directive), has taken a concrete step to implement the DOW’s policy of focusing on acquiring and delivering weapons and business systems at speed and scale. Under the July 22, 2026 Directive, Army Secretary Driscoll announced the . . . Read More
GovCon M&A and Security Clearances: What Buyers Need to Know When Acquiring a Cleared Contractor | The GovCon M&A Playbook, Part 5
A private equity firm identifies an attractive government contractor. The company has strong margins, a healthy backlog, an experienced management team, and a significant amount of classified work. The buyer has reviewed the contracts, financials, employees, and customer relationships. The numbers work, and the deal model assumes the buyer can bring the company onto its broader platform after closing. Then someone asks what happens to the company’s facility security clearance when the deal closes. If the buyer has foreign ownership . . . Read More
GovCon M&A and Past Performance: Can Buyers Use a Target’s Experience After an Acquisition? | The GovCon M&A Playbook, Part 4
One of the most persistent misconceptions in GovCon M&A is that acquiring a contractor also means acquiring its past performance. Government contractors, investors, and acquirers frequently ask the same questions. Can the buyer use the target’s past performance? Does novation transfer past performance? Can the buyer rely on the target’s corporate experience in future proposals? The answer is sometimes, but not automatically. An acquisition does not turn the target’s past performance into the buyer’s own experience for every future competition. . . . Read More
GovCon Due Diligence: The Assets Investors and PE Buyers Need to Understand Before Closing | The GovCon M&A Playbook, Part 3
A private equity fund acquires an SDVOSB with strong revenue, attractive contract vehicles, and a promising pipeline. The financial diligence checks out and the customer relationships appear solid. The employees stay and integration proceeds as planned. Then the buyer discovers the company can no longer compete for many of the opportunities that drove its growth projections. A major contract vehicle no longer offers the same access to future work. A mentor-protégé joint venture is less valuable than expected. A facility . . . Read More
The Shifting Landscape for Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence, Part 2: The Current Landscape
In Part 1 of this series, we examined the Department of Defense’s Proposed Rule and how it would broaden the reach of Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) obligations across the defense industrial base. Before looking ahead, it helps to understand how the current framework works. In this installment, PilieroMazza attorneys walk through the foundation of the existing system: obtaining and maintaining a facility security clearance, securing personnel security clearances for the people who run and safeguard the business, and, . . . Read More
Loser Pays: GSA Seeks to Extend New DoD Bid Protest Rules to Civilian Agencies
On July 17, 2026, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) submitted legislative proposals to Congress—two of which have important implications for government contractors and the bid protest system. First, GSA is requesting Congress enact a “loser pays” bid protest rule for civilian agencies that is similar to the “loser pays” rule established for Department of Defense (DoD) bid protests to GAO in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY26 NDAA). Second, GSA is seeking to raise the minimum . . . Read More
The LOI Problem: How the Present Effect Rule Creates Affiliation Risk Investors and PE Buyers Aren’t Pricing In | The GovCon M&A Playbook, Part 2
Private equity investors and strategic acquirers pursuing small business government contractors have largely absorbed one lesson from SBA’s 2025 recertification reforms. If a target has outstanding proposals for set-aside work, timing the close matters. Under SBA’s 180-day recertification rule, closing a transaction within 180 days of proposal submission can render a target ineligible for award if it cannot recertify as small. Close after day 180, and the target may remain eligible, but only for certain contracts. Single award set-aside contracts . . . Read More
Strategi Consulting : A Jurisdictional Win for SBIR Contractors
In Strategi Consulting LLC v. United States, the plaintiff alleged that the United States Air Force (“USAF” or “Agency”) improperly continued developing software derived from Strategi’s Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) work through an affiliated agency organization rather than awarding Strategi a Phase III SBIR contract. The Court of Federal Claims denied the Government’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, allowing the case to proceed. Although the court has not yet determined whether the USAF violated the . . . Read More
Competing at the Speed of Space: What Space Force’s Acquisition Shift Means for Government Contractors
Defense contracting is changing rapidly, and United States Space Force (USSF) procurements are no exception. In September 2025, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman emphasized that USSF cannot afford to maintain the status quo of “chasing perfection” and instead must shift toward building “minimum viable capability.” For contractors, that message is important: winning future USSF work may depend less on proposing a fully mature, long-duration solution and more on showing that the company can deliver a usable, mission-ready capability . . . Read More
Not So Fast: Recent ASBCA Decision Highlights Government’s Burden Before Terminating a Contractor for Default
A recent decision from the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA or Board) offers a useful reminder that the government must do more than point to performance problems when terminating a contract for default before completion. Although Jaxon Construction, Inc., ASBCA No. 64432 (June 24, 2026) was issued under the ASBCA’s Small Claims/Expedited procedures and therefore lacks precedential value (previously explained in our blog series about how the Boards of Contract Appeals work), government contractors should still take note . . . Read More