Project 38: The Future Of Federal Contracting

While the 20th century’s Space Race was strictly head-to-head, the 21st century variant is much more complex and multipolar as private businesses and nations are looking to lead in this domain. Kevin Kelly, chief executive of Arcfield, joins for this episode to go over how this systems engineering outfit is looking at the landscape through the lens of a company that has both government and private sector customers. In talking with Ross Wilkers, Kelly explains the art and science of managing space as it gets more and more crowded thanks to plummeting launch costs. The Golden Dome missile defense initiative, data centers in space and Arcfield’s acquisition activity over the past three years are also on the agenda. Arcfield enters the seas via acquisition Arcfield adds small satellite skills with new acquisition Arcfield acquires digital twin provider WT 360: All about Arcfield's strategy and investment thesis

Cuts to contract and grant spending, including outright cancellations, were a feature of the Department of Government Efficiency’s activities during the first year of the Trump administration and some lawsuits followed from those impacted. Natalie Alms, senior correspondent at NextGov/FCW, worked with our colleague and fellow senior reporter Eric Katz at Government Executive to watch 23 hours of testimony in one of those cases that sheds light on DOGE’s goals and the pressures to meet them. “Nat” joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to explain what she and Eric discovered in reporting out a story that is still working its way through the judicial system, but is showing enough of the atmosphere and environment surrounding DOGE. Nat also goes over her findings on how some technologists joining the government workforce can remain connected to their private sector employers and summarizes the White House budget office’s ongoing review of federal contracts. If you have a tip you'd like to share, Natalie Alms ca

GovCon finds itself in a strange situation where the Homeland Security Department does not have a budget and is in a shutdown, but the three immigration agencies are still operating with some funds. How is that possible? Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, joins Nick and Ross for this episode to lay out how that is and the DHS funding lapse’s myriad impacts on industry and society. Their conversation then turns to what contractors are seeking to learn and understand from the U.S. government’s very public breakup with Anthropic, which will take months to complete, and what to watch for next in the Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul effort. The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul is far from the only policy item contractors should pay attention to in 2026, as Kostro explains. Trump's new DHS nominee promises some changes, adequate staffing amid shutdown-induced departures CISA to furlough most of its workforce under impending DHS shutdown Path to averting a shutdown remains elusive as

Science Applications International Corp. can move ahead on their big decision points now that it has a permanent chief executive, which presents at least one element of certainty in a world replete with unknowns. Nick and Ross use this episode as a starting point for looking at SAIC’s next steps under CEO Jim Reagan, and the paths forward for several other key business and policy storylines in the public sector landscape. Anthropic’s fight against the U.S. government’s push to eject it from the market has industry-wide implications to unpack, as does the future of IT resellers and 8(a) companies amid their customer’s scrutiny on those corners of the market. Nick and Ross also break down why organizational culture is crucial for the Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul effort. SAIC's board stays with Reagan, names him full-time CEO SAIC plans partial pivot away from enterprise IT Microsoft takes Anthropic's side in DOD fight, warns it sets a new precedent Anthropic sues over a dozen federal agencies and gov

The Defense Department and Anthropic are on opposite ends of a nasty disagreement, with government-wide and industry-wide implications, over what the company’s Claude large language model and other offerings can be used for. Alexandra Kelley, our Nextgov/FCW colleague who covers emerging tech, has extensively covered the fallout from that impasse as agencies are working to comply with President Trump’s executive order to stop using Claude after the Pentagon essentially broke up with Anthropic. “Alexa,” as we and other GovExec colleagues call her, joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to explain how those phase-out processes are taking place and provide an initial look at the government’s AI landscape without Anthropic in it. Claude is embedded in so many workflows across government that fully removing it is not a matter of simply deleting the app, as Alexa points out. Private sector, former military leaders urge Congress intervene in Pentagon-Anthropic dispute House amendment responding to Pentagon-Anthropi

Data labeling refers to the practice of tagging and identifying raw data in order to add meaningful context, of which U.S. government agencies openly admit they struggle with and ask industry for help in. Peter Kant, founder and chief executive of Enabled Intelligence, started the company in March 2020 to specialize in data labeling work that also relies on continuous training and retraining of artificial intelligence models. Kant joins for this episode to explain how Enabled Intelligence tailors large language models for use in national security environments where the out-of-the-box tools are not quite ready to be in the hands of operators. In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Kant also describes how the company’s capture of a contract called Sequoia helps shed light on how the government is looking at the challenge of grasping all the data it has.

Humans in the loop are, in theory, supposed to be as much a part of all conversations surrounding the use of generative artificial intelligence tools as a way to safeguard against major mistakes. But as GovCon attorney David Timm has found out, errors showing misuse of the technology are starting to come up in bid protests and other legal rulings that show what can go wrong when relying on the tech too much. Timm, a partner at the law firm Burr & Forman, joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to share his findings from those decisions and how they could help set some guardrails for the use of GenAI in GovCon law. Even with the problems he sees, Timm is an optimist for how the tech can remove what he calls “Entropy” from workflows and make some tasks easier. Gen-AI Misuse in Procurement Litigation Procurement is Not "Oready" for GenAI Misuse Can a federal agency adopt the output of a Gen-AI bid evaluation tool? Buying Blind: Corruption Risk and the Erosion of Oversight in Federal AI Procurement

Consolidation and “common goods and services” dominate the discussion around how the federal government wants to revamp its contracting functions, including moves to put the General Services Administration at the center of it all.Leo Alvarez and Dylan Schreiner, respectively principal and GovCon senior manager at Baker Tilly, are fielding many questions from industry clients on what this landscape looks like and how to map their business strategies to it.In this episode, Leo and Dylan walk our Ross Wilkers through some of the big-ticket vehicles to watch in 2026 and how they help illustrate the government’s push to make contracting more straight-forward for every stakeholder.Navigating a world of fewer contracting officers and other key acquisition pros inside government also features in the discussion, plus what this all means for small businesses.GSA quietly rolls out CMMC-like cybersecurity framework for contractorsNew OMB memo lays out GSA's plan to consolidate contractsNITAAC finally pulls the plug on CI

Pressure points on defense companies from their Pentagon customer to invest more and do business differently than before are coming from multiple levels of leadership, including President Trump himself.Lauren Williams, business editor at our partner publication Defense One, canvasses the perspectives and opinions of industry pros on that matter to help put together the Defense Business Brief newsletter that goes out every Monday.Lauren joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to break down those different pressure points, including Trump’s executive order barring companies from stock repurchases and issuing dividends until they invest more in tech development and production.But as Lauren also explains, that executive order is only one of several examples of the U.S. military customer taking a more direct involvement in shaping the kind of industrial base it wants.WT 360: Defense One's Lauren Williams on the new world order of acquisitionDOE seeks batteries with four times the juiceDefense Business Brief: Thale

Commercial technology is front-and-center of everyone’s mind across the public sector ecosystem these days, but history shows that agencies have moved slow on the acquisition and adoption fronts here.Sheila Duffy, founder and chief executive of Greystones Group, views these efforts as grounded in collaboration as customer and contractor both have to agree on the roadmap for development and implementation.Duffy joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to go over keys for good collaborations with agencies on rolling out modern tools and how Small Business Innovation Research programs can be a pathway to accomplish that.Any conversation about commercial tech in government has to include security. This one is no exception.

Post-shutdown recovery is one item carrying over from calendar year 2025 into 2026 and the chance of another funding stoppage happening on Jan. 30 is not zero percent.That here-and-now is the starting point of this episode where Stephanie Smith, GovCon industry senior analyst and valuation services director at RSM, takes us through some of the major themes and talking points that will shape the ecosystem in 2026.How do we define the “non-traditional contractor” and what do their prospects look like? As Steph tells our Ross Wilkers, technical definitions and terms for talking about these companies are moving targets.Steph and Ross also went over artificial intelligence’s impacts to contractors’ business models, key macroeconomics and industrial policy developments for GovCon to monitor, and qualitative drivers of true value in a business.

The spring of 2024 was a turning point for Nightwing, when the business separated out of its then-parent RTX to become a standalone company focused on cybersecurity and intelligence solutions.Chris Jones joined Nightwing later that fall as chief technology officer following service as the CIA’s associate deputy director for science and technology. Jones joins for this episode to put into perspective how Nightwing has sought to carve out its own path in the market and priority areas for the company going forward.In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Jones also explains the role of companies like Nightwing in helping their government agencies customers navigate changes in how they operate even if the overall missions remain the same.Artificial intelligence and other automation technologies in the cyber landscape is also on the discussion agenda. All tech conversations end back up at AI these days, after all.Nightwing acquires managed security services providerNightwing appoints Coleman as chief executiveWhat the my

Most years of a presidential transition result in some adjustments by the government contracting community as a new administration settles in, but 2025 presented more variables to GovCon than ever before.Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, fields many questions from PSC’s member companies about what is happening across the ecosystem. Kostro joins Nick and Ross for this episode to unpack some that were answered in 2025 and others that remain unanswered for 2026, including the prospects of a second shutdown following the last one.How the Department of Government Efficiency’s influence remains over GovCon is one of those that has some answers. As Kostro explains, DOGE’s presence at the agency level is something GovCon will have to account for in 2026.The government’s acquisition overhaul to emphasize speed and commercial buying also has open questions from industry that Kostro walks Nick and Ross through. Small business contracting in today’s climate, bid protests and the Fiscal Yea

American Systems opened for business in 1975 and transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan 15 years later, a model that makes it one of the market’s largest 100% ESOP companies.CEO John Steckel joins for this episode to help mark American Systems’ 50th anniversary and explains some moves it has made this year to set the company up for the next 50, including its largest-ever acquisition.In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Steckel lays out what the purchase of Epsilon brings to American Systems and larger trends in managed services that led to the transaction. Secured data centers are part of that equation too and increasingly reflect larger conversations in society, as Steckel explains.Of course, American Systems’ status as an ESOP features in the conversation too. American Systems (No. 87) is one of three ESOP companies on the 2025 WT Top 100 ranking alongside Torch Technologies (No. 66) and DCS Corp. (No. 77).

In his Nov. 7 address to industry, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out what the U.S. military wants from its contractors and wholesale changes the Pentagon is carrying out to make agile acquisitions a reality.Lauren Williams, senior editor at Defense One who covers the industrial base, was there in-person and joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to walk through those structural changes that prior Defense Department leaders have spoken about for years.One major theme of that dialogue has been DOD’s desire to have more commercial technologies, which has been easier said than done. But as Lauren explains, the push to “go commercial” is more than just about the product being bought.Also on this episode’s discussion agenda: what the defense industrial base has been up to during the shutdown and why prototyping is becoming more popular across the ecosystem.Unveiling acquisition overhaul, Hegseth tells industry to get with the programDefense tech companies will weather the shutdown. But what happens next?Expe

The 2025 government shutdown is on-record as the largest ever at 43 days, which means the recovery period will last well into the spring and presents a risky environment for contractors to operate in.Christine Williamson, a partner in the GovCon industry advisory practice at CohnReznick, joins for this episode to walk through five risks she and her colleague Kristen Soles identified as ones companies must watch out for and ways for responding to them.As Williamson tells our Ross Wilkers, there is much excitement across the entire ecosystem to get back to work and understanding there is a long road ahead to get government’s engine back to where it was pre-shutdown.The article Williamson and Soles co-authored is below to read along during the conversation.Government shutdown FAQ for contractors: Today’s risks and what’s next

Commence is a newish company looking to help federal agencies, state and local governments, and private sector entities harness technology with the goal of helping care providers make better decisions.Ian Checcio, chief growth officer at Commence, joins for this episode to go over how the company has come together over 12 months with Pleasant Land’s backing and that vision of further enabling doctors and nurses.No image describes the current difficulties health care providers face in their data collection and management practices than the fax machine and clipboard, on which every new patient fills out everything about themselves.As Checcio explains to our Ross Wilkers, Commence’s federal and other customers are up against inertia that has built up over several years. But there have also never been more tech tools available to help in that effort and desire by customers to reverse the inertia.

Amentum is marking one year since its merger with Jacobs' government businesses to create a $14 billion-annual revenue company whose strategy centers around engineering and technology.CEO John Heller joins our Nick Wakeman for this episode to discuss how Amentum has positioned for opportunities in high-growth markets including space systems, nuclear energy and multi-domain defense.As Heller explains, nuclear engineering expertise is becoming more sought-after as artificial intelligence drives demand for power generation at scale.The company is also focused on space-based infrastructure for working and living beyond Earth, along with potential opportunities in the Golden Dome missile defense program.WT 360: Where Amentum wants to go next following its big mergerAmentum shows part of its hand for Golden Dome and nuclear powerA reader's guide to 'New Amentum' on its launch dayAmentum's blueprint as a public companyNew Jacobs, Amentum creation puts focus on large enterprise contractsJacobs, Amentum unveil transac

The government shutdown is now in week number four, which gives us a checkpoint to gauge the impacts so far and those to come for federal agency operations.Part one of this two-part episode sees Carten Cordell and Edward Graham, respectively managing editors at WT’s partner publications Government Executive and NextgovFCW, join Nick and Ross to go over the shutdown from every angle.Carten and Ed detail what operations are still ongoing inside government, who is still working, the impacts of the shutdown and key checkpoints to watch out for ahead of the eventual reopening.Then in part two, Nick and Ross unpack the CEO transition at Science Applications International Corp. and put it into context against a market landscape that looks very different here in October versus what it was in January.Shutdown furloughs will permanently cost the economy at least $7 billion, CBO saysFederal employee groups want to reopen government. They disagree on howShutdown layoffs indefinitely blocked following new court injunction

The business of federal contracting does not entirely come to a halt during government shutdowns, and arguably picks up in other ways, but financial concerns certainly remain paramount for all companies.Phil Poliquin is a market executive for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking’s aerospace, defense and government services team. He is our guest for this week’s episode to go over some general guidelines for contractors on how to navigate the shutdown and stay ready for the reopening of government, plus thrive afterward.The GovCon ecosystem has gone through about 10 months of stress testing before the shutdown, as Poliquin often reminds clients of. What teams like Poliquin’s want and need to hear from contractors also features in the conversation with our Ross Wilkers.