Government contracting news covering federal procurement, defense and tech contracts, GSA schedules, contractor oversight, and procurement reform.
The Indian government has instructed Central Secretaries to prioritize upskilling in-house officers through the iGOT platform for specialized tasks like tendering and legislation drafting. This directive, issued by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to reduce reliance on private external consultants previously hired by various ministries.
Columbus Circle Capital Corp II announced Elroy Air secured a firm-fixed-price U.S. Army contract worth up to $46.1 million. The deal funds development of an autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL uncrewed aircraft system for modular payload delivery, with completion expected by 2029.
The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded a sole-source contract to Accrete for its Argus for Cognitive Advantage platform. The system uses Expert AI Agents to track and visualize adversarial narratives across open-source intelligence, social media, and broadcast platforms to support decision-making.
Oracle Corp. received a $17 billion increase to the maximum value of its Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health record contract, raising the total ceiling to approximately $27 billion. The expansion includes three additional one-year options extending operations through May 2031, though only 14 of 164 VA centers are currently live on the system.
Integrity experts Robert Redlich and Deborah Glass told the Big Build royal commission to examine whether the Victorian government created conditions for corruption by sidestepping planning rules for political gain. They emphasized that executive responsibility must include proper oversight, transparency, and integrated planning for major infrastructure projects.
The author argues that company age should not determine perceived competence in Ghana's public contracting sector. Contending that new firms with qualified personnel and resources deserve fair evaluation, the piece advocates for scrutiny based on actual capacity rather than prejudice against recent incorporation.
The Department of Defense awarded $5.7 billion in Next Generation Delivery Service-2 contracts to FedEx, UPS, and Polar Air Cargo. FedEx and UPS each received $2.7 billion for express and ground services, while Polar Air secured $272 million for international shipments.
The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen Nth Cycle to negotiate a grant of up to $100 million for constructing a new critical mineral refining facility in the Southeast United States. Designated as Project SHIELD, the plant will utilize electroextraction technology to process 24,000 metric tons of domestic black mass annually into high-purity nickel and lithium carbonate for strategic industries.
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg signed a memo requiring full cost and pricing data disclosure from defense contractors for contracts over $10 million. The directive aims to establish fair profit margins using commercial best practices and explores automated software integration with contractor financial systems.
AEVEX Corp. secured a $41 million contract to deliver one-way attack systems to U.S. government customers. The award supports sustained demand for the company's mission-focused unmanned capabilities, including autonomous systems and AI-enabled software designed for contested environments.