Air Force Academy

The Department of the Air Force Headquarters Air Force Academy, a major defense command within the Air Force, procures supplies, services, and equipment for the Academy's educational, training, and research operations at its Colorado Springs campus. The 10th Contracting Squadron executes contracting on behalf of the Academy, managing acquisitions across cadet support, academic departments, flying training operations, and research facilities.

The Academy has issued 13,885 federal contract awards cumulatively since 1997, with combined potential value of $4.29 billion and combined dollars obligated of $3.96 billion. Award volume has declined year-over-year: 368 awards in 2022, 325 in 2023, 274 in 2024, 250 in 2025, and 105 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent recorded award date is September 30, 2026. Across the lifetime portfolio, 2,931 distinct prime contractors have been awarded.

The competitive landscape is highly fragmented. Over the last five years, the top five primes by award count hold 13 percent of recent awards, with Knock Out-Trujillo Special Coatings JV leading at 48 awards ($1.8 million combined potential value), followed by Carahsoft Technology Corp (36 awards, $3.6 million) and Goodwill Industrial Services Corp (34 awards, $34.5 million). The top five by potential value hold only 3 percent of combined value; Goodwill Industrial Services Corp leads at $34.5 million across 34 awards. The long tail of small awards and specialized vendors reflects the Academy's operational diversity—athletic uniform supply, janitorial services, specialized research equipment, and facility maintenance draw from a broad base of regional and niche contractors.

Set-asides are dominated by unrestricted procurements. Sixty-five percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while small-business awards (total small business plus 8(a) competitive and sole-source combined) account for 32 percent. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, HUBZone, and Woman-Owned Small Business designations together represent less than 2 percent of awards.

The Academy awarded 113 grants cumulatively since 2013, obligating $283.4 million in federal dollars (combined federal and non-federal share of $368.9 million). Grant activity has been episodic: 6 awards in 2022, 10 in 2023, 3 in 2024, 4 in 2025, and 3 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent grant award closed on March 31, 2026. Across 78 distinct grant recipients, the top five by award count hold 19 percent of recent grants but are primarily single-award recipients; Appili Therapeutics USA Inc. leads both by count and federal dollars at 1 award obligating $11.7 million. The top five by federal dollars hold 5 percent of federal dollars, indicating highly fragmented grant-recipient concentration. Grants are structured predominantly as Cooperative Agreements (100 of 113 awards, 88 percent), with Project Grants comprising 12 awards (11 percent) and 1 Block Grant.

Recent contract opportunities reflect the Academy's academic research and cadet-support missions. The 10th Contracting Squadron posted FY27 solicitations for cadet swimsuits and compression shorts (FY27_USAFA_Swimsuits_Compression_Shorts, due October 23, 2026, total small business set-aside) and the Contrails pocket reference handbook (FY27_USAFA_Contrails, due October 23, 2026, unrestricted). September 2026 saw multiple research-equipment solicitations, including a combined synopsis for simultaneous dynamic scanning calorimeter/thermogravimetric analyzer (FA700026Q0102, due September 14, 2026, unrestricted) and a special notice of intent to sole-source LC-MS system maintenance to AB SCIEX LLC with anticipated award on September 30, 2026. The Academy also posted a total small business set-aside for portable stadium flooring (FA700026Q0082, due September 29, 2026) and an unrestricted solicitation for projectors and soundbars with three amendments through September 22, 2026 (FA700026Q0110, extended due date September 24, 2026). No recent grant opportunities are recorded in the source material.