Indefinite Delivery Contract HQ085926DF063

Cherokee Insights LLC, a tribally-owned 8(a) certified small business, was awarded a multiple-award indefinite delivery contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on December 29, 2025, with a ceiling value of $151 billion and ultimate completion date of December 28, 2035. The contract employs full and open competition with no set-aside designations, allowing all qualifying contractors to compete for orders under the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity structure. The Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) contract represents a comprehensive, multi-domain defense acquisition vehicle designed to procure advanced defense systems and supporting services for detecting, tracking, intercepting, and neutralizing air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threats to the United States homeland, deployed forces, allies, and friends across all phases of flight.

The SHIELD contract encompasses a broad spectrum of work activities including research and development, prototyping, disruptive technologies, systems engineering, weapon design, production, test and evaluation, cybersecurity modernization, and related support services. The initial task order, awarded on December 29, 2025, carries a ceiling value of $500 for the SHIELD initial order, with performance location in Huntsville, Alabama, and ultimate completion by December 28, 2035. Work under the contract will leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital engineering, and open systems architectures, with task and delivery orders potentially issued at various classification levels requiring appropriate facility clearances. Individual orders will utilize multiple contract types across diverse North American Industry Classification System codes to support both classified and unclassified programs, positioning the SHIELD vehicle as a strategic long-term contracting mechanism for the nation's layered defense requirements.