The future Golden Dome system will have to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonics, cruise missiles and other aerial attacks. The Missile Defense Agency has released the final solicitation for its multiple-award SHIELD contract to develop a nationwide system to protect the U.S. from missile attacks.
Proposals are due Oct. 10 for the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense contract, which will carry a $151 billion ceiling.
SHIELD will be the primary vehicle for the development of Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s vision for a nationwide missile defense system and one of its top priorities.
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Golden Dome must be able to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles and other advanced aerial attacks across all flight phases.
MDA wants advanced, multi-domain defense systems that are capable of protecting the U.S. homeland, deployed forces and allies against increasingly sophisticated threats.
The contract will have four primary work areas:
- Research and development
- Engineering and production
- Operations and Support
- Analysis and IT services
The contract is likely to draw a wide range of interest, from traditional defense contractors to up-and-coming providers of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. It was a hot topic at this spring’s Space Symposium.
Industry has been waiting for the final request for proposals since the draft was released in May.
In a recent Washington Technology commentary, Cale Thorne of DMI called Golden Dome a “generational opportunity.”
“If built on a strong technological foundation with fiscal discipline at its core, the Golden Dome presents a rare opportunity to fortify national security while demonstrating responsible government spending,” Thorne wrote.
MDA said that SHIELD will have a 10-year period of performance, starting with a three-year base followed by three option periods. Option periods 1 and 3 will be for two years each, while option 2 is for three years.
The solicitation does not say how many awards MDA plans. The agency may stagger awards.
Price will not be part of the evaluation process. MDA instead will make awards to all qualified bidders. Corporate experience is the only evaluation factor the agency will use to evaluate proposals.
But the corporate experience must line up with at least two work areas listed in the solicitation’s statement of work. These include R&D, prototyping, modeling and simulation, production and fielding, operation and sustainment, data mining and analysis, and cybersecurity.
Disruptive technologies and experimentation also are listed as work areas.
“MDA will expect contractors to incorporate processes that provide rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter. This may include using artificial intelligence and/or machine learning-enabled applications where pertinent, and leveraging digital engineering, open systems architectures, model-based systems engineering, and agile processes in the acquisition, development, fielding and sustainment of these capabilities,” according to the statement of work.
The agency also is accepting questions on the solicitation through Monday before proposals are due Oct. 10.
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