Missile Defense Agency

The Missile Defense Agency, a major command within the Department of Defense, acquires systems, subsystems, and engineering services to develop, integrate, and sustain the U.S. ballistic missile defense architecture. MDA operates across a portfolio spanning sensor systems, interceptor platforms, command and control, modeling and simulation, and test and evaluation infrastructure. MDA executes the vast majority of its procurement activity through fixed-price and cost-reimbursable contracts rather than grants.

Since 1986, MDA has awarded 18,146 federal contracts totaling $186.77 billion in combined potential value, with $171.19 billion obligated to date. Contract award volume declined over the past three years — 939 awards in 2022, 595 in 2023, and 404 in 2024 — then surged to 2,417 awards in 2025 before settling to 533 year-to-date in 2026. The most recently recorded award date is November 6, 2026. The agency works with 5,066 distinct prime contractors across its portfolio history.

Among the top five primes over the last five years by award count and potential value, Raytheon Company leads with 90 awards worth $4.31 billion combined potential value. Lockheed Martin Corporation ranks second by potential value with 19 awards worth $1.57 billion. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC holds 39 awards worth $691.3 million, and Corvid Technologies LLC has 62 awards valued at $267.9 million. These five contractors account for only 4 percent to 5 percent of recent awards by count and value, indicating highly fragmented competition. The long tail spans thousands of vendors ranging from major defense primes to specialized engineering firms and component suppliers.

Seventy-two percent of MDA contract awards carry no set-aside designation. Small-business set-asides account for 26 percent of awards — predominantly competitively awarded to certified small businesses. Sole-source 8(a), competitive 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone, and HBCU/MI designations each represent less than one percent of the award base. Recent awards transact heavily through Schedule task orders, BPA calls, and modifications, with no reported potential value in source data.

MDA's grant activity is minimal. Since November 2023, the agency has awarded seven Block Grants totaling $44 thousand obligated federal dollars to five universities: New Mexico State University, Troy University, South Dakota State University, Alabama State University, Bowling Green State University, and University of West Florida. Each recipient received a single award. No grant opportunities are currently listed.

Current contract opportunities include several ongoing solicitations. The Missile Defense Agency Advanced Planning Services (RFP HQ085426RE004) is an indefinite-delivery contract for engineering, architectural, and advanced-planning support with a closed due date of October 21, 2026. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Modeling & Simulation Support (THAADMS-26-0001) is a Request for Information seeking contractor capabilities for THAAD M&S development and integration; responses are due November 15, 2026. The Low-Cost Kill Vehicles solicitation, posted in August 2026 with a due date of October 2, 2026, seeks prototype solutions to reduce kill-vehicle costs across legacy and next-generation interceptors including SM-3, THAAD, and the MDA Low-Cost Interceptor. MDA issued a pre-solicitation notice for the Forward-Based Mode Radar Next Prototype in August 2026, to be procured under the agency's NOBLE Multiple Authority Announcement using Other Transaction Authority for rapid prototype development. MDA is procuring on behalf of the United States Space Force for the Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (SCAR) Program, which requires Ground Entry Point and Network Operations Center capabilities for satellite command and control; the classified solicitation (HQ0860-26-S-C009) had a due date of October 15, 2026 with amendments posted as recently as October 6, 2026. MDA hosted a Small Business Conference (September 16–17, 2026, Huntsville, Alabama) and Next-generation Air & Missile Defense Industry Day (September 18, 2026, classified, Redstone Arsenal) to facilitate prime-contractor and small-business matching and network development.

The Missile Defense Agency is a research, development, and acquisition agency that works on ballistic missile defense systems for the United States and its allies.