The Department of Defense in President Trump’s second term is revamping how it procures weapon systems and services, with more emphasis on non-traditional contracting methods such as other transaction authorities and procuring commercial products and services whenever possible. This approach has the objective of helping DOD better acquire the cutting-edge technologies and systems it needs to win wars in this era of near-peer competition.
Below are three important Army competitions that demonstrate DOD’s emphasis on acquiring commercial systems and using innovative contracting vehicles. Get an exclusive look at additional business opportunities like these at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Army Summit on June 18. Leaders from across the public and private sectors, such as U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, DCS, G-6, Lt. Gen. Jeth Ray, will come together at this premier GovCon conference to discuss the Army’s procurement priorities and requirements. Secure your spot at the 2025 Army Summit to connect with these thought leaders and gain a competitive edge.
Flight School Next
The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, or AVCOE, seeks bids for initial entry rotary-wing flight training, also known as Flight School Next, located at Fort Novosel, Alabama. AVCOE will pursue a contractor-owned, contractor-operated, or COCO, commercial, turnkey solution to replace the current initial entry rotary wing Common Core flight training for the Army. The service currently uses the Airbus UH-72A Lakota for initial flight training.
The Army expects to utilize a commercial services opening for Flight School Next to reduce the time and complexity of a federal acquisition regulation, or FAR, -based procurement, allowing for faster selection and deployment of needed technologies. It also wants to better utilize innovative commercial solutions that could not be readily available through traditional FAR-based contracting strategies.
Lastly, the Army targets streamlining the acquisition process by eliminating typically burdensome FAR requirements. The service seeks technologies and methodologies to cover the following areas of rotorcraft flight training:
- Academic and flight instruction
- Training aids and devices
- Simulation (if required)
- Aircraft
- Aircraft parts
- Aircraft maintenance
Bids are due October 31.
DeCA Retail Grocer Transformation for Enterprise Business System 2.0
The Army seeks innovative pitches from industry to modernize the Defense Commissary Agency’s, or DeCA’s, Enterprise Business Systems, as well as address future DeCA modernization needs. DeCA is seeking a software services provider and an integrator to provide solutions with innovative methods for achieving the task of running a demanding retail grocery ecosystem.
DeCA operates a worldwide system of 235 commissaries in 45 states, 13 countries and two U.S. territories, supporting roughly 3,000 checkout lanes, including self-service checkouts.. DeCA operates globally, with annual sales exceeding $4.6 billion and employing more than 14,000 people. DeCA currently relies on a combination of various retail information systems that are designed to interdependently manage DeCA’s overall retail, logistics and financial data environment.
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DeCA’s current hardware suite consists of NCR Government Systems, LLC brand name hardware, software and third-party applications. DeCA envisions a future where the agency has “near” real-time access to accurate, relevant, reliable and actionable data to enable data-driven and timely decisions.
DeCA’s desired outcome from this procurement is:
- Enhanced financial visibility and reporting
- Streamlined financial processes
- Improved budgeting and forecasting
- Data-driven cost analysis and management
- Enhanced transaction security and fraud prevention, among others
This commercial solutions opening, or CSO, may result in the award of various types of contracts. The Army intends to award FAR-based contracts under Part 12 Commercial Item Procedures, but could award different types of contracts depending on the specific area of interest.
Proposals are due August 12.
Guam Joint Integrated Battle Manager Prototype Development
The U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is requesting white papers with the intent of awarding one or more other transaction agreements for prototype in support of the Guam Defense System Joint Integrated Battle Manager, or JIBM. The JIBM is an important part of the Guam Defense System, serving as a joint command and control layer that integrates data from existing DOD C2 systems.
The C2 data integration provides a comprehensive and unified capability to defend against both ballistic and non-ballistic threats. The JIBM prototype effort will design, develop, integrate and test a secure, scalable and flexible prototype JIBM for a capability exercise in third quarter FY 2026. Final prototype delivery is slated for fourth quarter FY 2026.
DOD expects the award to be an other transaction agreement for prototype, or pOTA, under a firm-fixed-price arrangement. This would allow for fixed payable milestones. The period of performance of the anticipated pOTA is up to 12 months after contract award.
White papers are due July 2.
