Automated Classification Management Environment (ACME) RFI

The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Lifecycle Management Center is conducting a Request for Information on the Automated Classification Management Environment (ACME) program, with responses due by 5:00 PM EDT on September 4, 2026. The Government seeks vendor input on an automated/AI-assisted classification capability to support Joint All Domain Command and Control operations and does not anticipate a set-aside.

The ACME program will manage the end-to-end lifecycle of Executive Order 13526, 32 CFR Part 2001, DoW policy, and digital classification and declassification guidance. Current manual classification infrastructure constrains the Department's ability to share data at operationally relevant speeds. The Government envisions a two-function acquisition: Function 1 as a single-award integration contract for enterprise platform architecture, security accreditation, cross-domain coordination, and release engineering; Function 2 as a multiple-award IDIQ contract for specialized software development, algorithm design, and COTS/GOTS applications deployable as modular components within the Function 1 platform.

Key capability areas include modernizing original classification decisions, managing the classification lifecycle through declassification, addressing a 140-million-page hardcopy records backlog, automating derivative classification across over 5.6 million derivative classifiers, and enhancing release determinations. The Government welcomes responses from vendors outside the Defense Industrial Base and seeks input on data rights and licensing models, information assurance and security-by-design requirements including zero-trust architecture and algorithmic integrity, and alternative acquisition strategies. Responses are limited to three pages per function (six pages maximum) and must include the completed Vendor Q&A template. Tentative Industry Days are planned for late September or early October 2026 in the National Capital Region.