Brown Helicopter, Inc.

Brown Helicopter, Inc., operating as Brown Helicopter Inc., is a small business prime contractor based in Pensacola, Florida, that supplies specialized aviation hardware, mechanical components, and structural parts to the Department of Defense through a high-volume transactional model. The vendor is a Subchapter S Corporation that competes predominantly full-and-open, without SBA set-aside designations on individual purchase orders, though it holds a single-award total small business set-aside indefinite delivery contract (IDC) with Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation worth up to $250,000 annually (awarded September 12, 2023). Brown Helicopter has been registered in the federal contracting system since December 2001 and operates solely as a prime contractor; recent award activity shows no subcontract work except one sub-award in 2026 related to H-60 blade de-ice controller materials at Redstone Arsenal.

Brown Helicopter's capability portfolio centers on helicopter parts and components procured through high-frequency, low-dollar purchase orders. The company supplies bearings (ball, roller, sleeve, annular, and thrust variants), fasteners (bolts, screws, nuts, pins, rivets), structural hardware (brackets, clamps, plates, spacers, shims), hydraulic and fluid system components (valves, filters, restrictors, pumps, accumulators, switches), electrical assemblies (connectors, leads, harnesses), and mechanical subassemblies (housings, bushings, seals, springs, gears) for military helicopter platforms including MH-60T (Coast Guard), AH-64, UH-60, and legacy Army and Navy rotorcraft. Representative recent prime work includes a $286.8 thousand total small business set-aside purchase order from DLA Land and Maritime in February 2026 for support bell crank components, a $185.8 thousand order from DLA Land and Maritime in March 2026 for 384 units of switch assemblies, a $99.9 thousand order from DLA Land and Maritime in March 2026 for filter assemblies, and a $99 thousand order from the Ogden Air Logistics Complex in April 2026 for B-2 weapon system electric controller components. The bulk of the portfolio, however, consists of orders valued between $1 thousand and $50 thousand, issued weekly across standard commercial and military hardware line items.

Customer concentration is extreme and narrow. DLA Aviation dominates with 16,725 awards (65% of total awards across the entire 25,767-award footprint) worth $135.3 million combined potential value (71% of total value). DLA Land and Maritime contributes 3,087 awards worth $22.7 million, Department of the Navy Naval Supply Systems Command 1,391 awards worth $10.5 million, and DLA Troop Support Hardware 1,186 awards worth $4.2 million. These five customer organizations account for 91% of the vendor's award count and 93% of combined potential value. No other agency exceeds 3% of the portfolio. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center, and Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command place orders at lower volumes but reflect Brown Helicopter's diverse platform customer base across military aviation maintenance.

Brown Helicopter's parent vehicle posture is minimal. The vendor holds a single-award IDC (DAAH1300A0002) that generated only two task orders in the source data window. The overwhelming majority of the vendor's work flows through simplified acquisition purchase orders issued directly by DLA Aviation and DLA Land and Maritime, without parent GWAC or BPA structure. This transactional model—hundreds of small purchase orders per year from a single contracting activity—is characteristic of defense supply-chain vendors embedded in DLA's routine parts procurement cycle.

Activity has been volatile but elevated. The vendor placed 1,287 awards in 2022, grew to 1,936 in 2024, and maintained 1,908 in 2025; activity in 2026 (404 awards through early July) projects to roughly 1,200 for the full year, consistent with recent run rates. Combined obligated value ($226.3 million) exceeds combined potential value ($190.6 million) by 19 percentage points, indicating invoiced revenue has outpaced ceiling estimates across the historical footprint. The recompete cliff is negligible: only one award (valued $21 thousand) reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, reflecting the perpetual nature of DLA purchase-order cycles and minimal recompete exposure.

NAICS and PSC concentration reflects pure hardware commodity supply. The top five NAICS categories are Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (6,952 awards), Hardware Manufacturing (2,397), Bolt/Nut/Screw/Rivet/Washer Manufacturing (2,080), Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing (2,052), and Aircraft Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing (1,696). Top PSC codes are Airframe Structural Components (4,017 awards), Bearings Plain Unmounted (1,360), Miscellaneous Aircraft Accessories and Components (1,319), Commercial Hardware (1,234), and Nuts and Washers (1,095). Brown Helicopter is a distributed-parts supplier to military rotorcraft fleets, not an integrator or systems vendor.

DEALER OF HELICOPTER PARTS AND ACCESSORIES.