Curtiss-Wright DS, Inc.

Curtiss-Wright DS, Inc., doing business as Curtiss-Wright Pacstar, manufactures ruggedized tactical communications equipment, networking hardware, and deployable communications infrastructure sold as a prime contractor (96% of recent awards) to defense and civilian federal agencies on a full-and-open, competitive basis with no set-aside designations. Headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, and a subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc., Pacstar competes across the full federal market for communications systems, secure containers, software licensing, and mission-critical portable equipment falling under primary NAICS 334220 (Electronic Computer Manufacturing) and covering radio/television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing through related codes.

Pacstar's customer base spans 241 distinct federal agencies, with concentration in defense and military branches. The top five funding sources by potential value account for 37% of combined dollars: the Department of the Army's Communications Electronics Command (87 awards, $51.9 million), the Department of Defense Education Activity (74 awards, $41.1 million), the Department of the Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (56 awards, $17.1 million), the Army Cyber Command (47 awards, $13.3 million), and the Army broadly (352 awards, $13 million). Award volume grew from 25 in 2022 to 62 in 2024, then moderated to 42 in 2025 and 17 year-to-date in 2026. Eight awards totaling $13 million in combined potential value are scheduled for completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure for the vendor.

Pacstar holds three named contract vehicles serving as primary channels for federal procurement. The General Services Administration Information Technology Schedule 70 (IT Schedule 70) generates the highest volume and dollar value: 1,339 task orders carrying $109.4 million combined potential value, with delivery orders flowing from Air Force, Army, Navy, and other DoD components for networking gear, switches, servers, and IT infrastructure. The company also holds a $17.5 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with the FBI Headquarters Division for deployment fly-away kits (awarded September 2023, running through September 2028), from which nine delivery orders totaling approximately $5.1 million have been placed between September 2023 and September 2026 for portable deployable communications systems, secure containers, and tactical networking equipment. A $1.88 million Other Transaction Authority agreement with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, awarded February 2023, funds mission-assured supply chain program initiatives. Beyond these three, Pacstar places task orders under Army indefinite delivery contracts (78 task orders), Navy contracts (46 task orders, $4.6 million), and the Department of Defense Education Activity's Information Technology Network Outfitting IDIQ (26 task orders, $7.3 million), typically designated as total small business set-asides on the ITNO vehicle despite Pacstar's full-and-open posture on primary channels.

Recent prime contracts exemplify Pacstar's core capability portfolio. A $5.96 million definitive contract from PEO Command Control Communications-Tactical (awarded July 2026, running through June 2027) procures commercial-off-the-shelf PACSTAR IQ-Core software subscriptions. A $9.29 million Army Communications Electronics Command contract (September 2025) covers IQ-Core software license renewals. A $4.31 million Army Communications Electronics Command Foreign Military Sales contract (June 2026) delivered PACSTAR PS-444 and PS-447 tactical communications modules to the Slovak Republic. A $1.43 million State Department purchase order (August 2026) acquired PACSTAR travel kits for the Office of the Secretary of State. A $1.5 million Air Force Materiel Command delivery order under the GSA MAS vehicle (September 2024) funded base IT infrastructure and WiFi upgrades at Edwards Air Force Base in California. A $1.98 million Army Communications Electronics Command contract (June 2023) procured communications equipment and hardware. Pacstar also receives small-dollar orders across multiple agencies for cable assemblies, disk drive units, hose clamps, and other components, as well as maintenance and repair services for its installed base of Pacstar switches and equipment.

On the subcontractor side, Pacstar operates as a supplier of communications and networking hardware to major defense primes. Recent sub-awards name Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Integrated Battle Command System hardware manufacturing, thirteen awards), General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (US BICES sustainment and global security engineering, multiple awards), L3Harris Technologies Integrated Systems L.P. (Digital Infrastructure Consortium advanced battle management systems, multiple awards), Leidos, Inc. (common hardware systems and standing army support, multiple awards), Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (tactical networking and PACSTAR equipment sourcing, frequent orders), and Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Scientific Research Corporation on specialized communications and defense IT programs. Across SCI-reportable service contracts, Pacstar delivered roughly 0.5–0.8 FTEs annually from FY2022 through FY2025, all in a subcontractor capacity, indicating the vendor functions primarily as a hardware supplier and equipment manufacturer rather than as a labor-hour service provider to federal customers.

Curtiss-Wright Pacstar's business model centers on manufacturing and distributing proprietary tactical communications systems (the PACSTAR line of switches, routers, secure containers, and integrated platform equipment), bundled software (IQ-Core network management software), and related networking hardware to DoD, civilian agencies, and allied foreign militaries via Foreign Military Sales. The company competes predominantly full-and-open, generating 2,438 total federal awards (prime and sub combined) across 25 years of activity. Category concentration shows 1,422 awards classified under Electronic Computer Manufacturing, with secondary volume in communications equipment manufacturing and IT equipment distribution. Pacstar's market position reflects both organic demand for its branded equipment line and broad GSA Schedule and IDIQ distribution channels that enable federal agencies to procure its products and services across the defense and civilian enterprise.