Indefinite Delivery Contract HQ085926DF332

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded a multiple-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Knexus Research LLC and other qualifying contractors on December 29, 2025, under the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program. The contract carries a ceiling value of $151 billion over a 10-year period of performance through December 28, 2035, with no small business set-aside applied. Knexus Research LLC, an SBA-certified 8(a) small business specializing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and research and development services, was selected as one of the awardees. The contract utilizes full and open competition with awards made to all qualifying offerors meeting responsibility and technical acceptability standards with fair and reasonable pricing. Work is to be performed at multiple locations, including Huntsville, Alabama, with the contractor required to provide all necessary materials, labor, equipment, and facilities to perform the requirements.

The SHIELD IDIQ procures an advanced, multi-domain defense system designed to detect, track, intercept, and neutralize threats across air, missile, space, and cyber domains throughout all phases of flight from ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles. The contract encompasses research and development, prototyping, disruptive technologies, systems engineering, weapon design, production, test and evaluation, cybersecurity, and modernization efforts to support national defense objectives and continuous layered protection for U.S. homeland, deployed forces, allies, and partners. Individual task and delivery orders will utilize various contract types under multiple industry classification codes, with work structured to support both classified and unclassified programs requiring appropriate facility clearances. The initial delivery order issued to Knexus Research LLC is priced at $500 under a firm fixed-price arrangement, with the contract vehicle designed to enable rapid issuance of task orders leveraging advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and open systems architectures.