Persistent Systems LLC

Persistent Systems LLC, a New York-based small business manufacturer of mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) systems and tactical radio equipment, operates predominantly as a prime contractor (81% of recent awards) across the Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies, competing frequently under total small business set-asides on individual purchase orders and delivery orders while holding positions on larger, full-and-open indefinite delivery vehicles.

The company manufactures and sells Wave Relay proprietary MANET platforms — tactical radio systems including the MPU5 series, embedded RF modules, antennas, batteries, cables, and related networking accessories — along with training and engineering sustainment services for contested or infrastructure-limited communications environments. Representative prime awards span multiple service lines: a $41.8 million firm fixed-price definitive contract from Air Force Materiel Command (September 2024) for ICBM Wave Relay Tactical Assault Kit (WARTAK) sustainment engineering services through September 2029; a $7.46 million firm fixed-price definitive contract from Air Mobility Command (September 2024) for smart handheld radios compatible with Android Team Awareness Kit under a 100% small business set-aside; a $5.18 million firm fixed-price purchase order from Air Mobility Command (September 2023) for MPU5 radio kits and required peripherals to support contingency response groups; and a $75.5 million Other Transaction Agreement from Air Force Research Laboratory (November 2022) for a Regional Operating Picture effort under 10 U.S.C. 4022 authority through August 2026.

Customer concentration shows high dependency on defense agencies, with the top five customers accounting for 45% of award count but the top customer by potential value — the Department of the Air Force — anchoring $46.96 billion in combined potential value through a single $46 billion Eglin Wide Agile Acquisition Contract (EWAAC) awarded September 2023. Below that ceiling, the Naval Sea Systems Command (27 awards, $984 million potential value) drives the second-largest dollar concentration through a $982.1 million Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems multiple-award indefinite delivery contract awarded June 2024, where Persistent Systems holds a seat and has issued multiple task orders for Wave Relay systems and engineering support. The FBI Headquarters Division (30 awards, $133.7 million combined potential value) represents the third-largest customer through a $4.8 million single-award indefinite delivery contract (June 2024 through June 2029) set aside for small business, from which recent delivery orders to FBI include $1.96 million (January 2026), $1.17 million (July 2024), $605,567.93 (October 2026), and $385,920.12 (August 2024), all firm fixed-price. The Army Space and Missile Defense Command (78 awards, $97.5 million combined potential value) anchors the fourth-largest footprint through indefinite delivery contract W911QY14D0016, from which 78 task orders have been issued totaling $48.6 million in combined potential value, with major work including a $2.21 million research and development delivery order (August 2022), a $884,145.34 delivery order (November 2022), and a $399,919.92 research and development delivery order (November 2022).

Persistent Systems holds positions on the EWAAC ($46 billion multiple-award IDIQ, September 2023), the Naval Sea Systems Command Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems ($982.1 million multiple-award IDC, June 2024), the Army Space and Missile Defense Command IDC W911QY14D0016 (78 task orders, $48.6 million combined potential value), the FBI indefinite delivery contract ($4.8 million single-award small business set-aside, June 2024), a General Services Administration indefinite delivery contract ($23.5 million single-award small business set-aside, September 2026), the Missile Defense Agency's Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) ($151 billion multiple-award IDIQ, December 2025), the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) IDIQ ($950 million), the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (39 task orders, $3.7 million combined potential value), and a U.S. Special Operations Command Other Transaction Agreement ($286,859.56, March 2024). The EWAAC ceiling and the SHIELD IDIQ ceiling represent the company's largest vehicles, though EWAAC and SHIELD are multi-contractor vehicles with numerous competing awardees, and Persistent Systems' share of either ceiling is constrained by available task orders.

Award activity has grown from 41 awards in 2023 to a peak of 68 in 2024, declining to 58 in 2025 and 32 in 2026; only one award appears in 2027. Over the next twenty-four months, six awards (combined potential value $1.7 million) face ultimate completion dates and will require recompete, representing modest recompete exposure relative to the company's overall portfolio.

In its subcontractor role, Persistent Systems supplies Wave Relay MANET equipment, RF modules, antennas, cables, and related networking components to Raytheon (multiple Advanced Technology Support Program orders for counter-UAS systems, Coyote interceptor platforms, and sense-and-intercept equipment), Lockheed Martin (TCC LCSM technical collection and communication services), Northrop Grumman (GBSD engineering and manufacturing development, divisional short-range air defense initiatives), Booz Allen Hamilton (TEST & EVALUATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR RANGES, ARMAMENTS AND SPECTRUM autonomous and automated weapon system design), General Dynamics Information Technology (global security engineering and supply-chain services), Amentum Services (C5ISR prototyping integration facility support), HII Mission Technologies (naval surface warfare center special projects), BAE Systems Technology Solutions (instrumentation range support program), Atlantic Diving Supply (retail fulfillment of Wave Relay radios and modules for end-user federal customers), and others.

SCI-reported activity on federal service contracts shows $16.3 million in invoiced amounts across four prime contracts spanning FY2022–FY2025, with government-paid hourly rates running a median around $169/hr, 10th percentile $159.85/hr, and 90th percentile $178.22/hr. The SCI dataset reflects 10.8 FTEs (FY2022), 12.0 FTEs (FY2023), 1.8 FTEs (FY2024), and 10.5 FTEs (FY2025) on prime SCI-reportable contracts; across those prime contracts, subcontractors performed 6% of total hours on average, with four named subcontractors identified in SCI records. SCI figures capture only service contracts above $150,000 and exclude goods, products, and micro-purchases, representing a strict subset of Persistent Systems' federal revenue footprint.

The vendor competes predominantly under small business set-asides on individual purchase orders and delivery orders (typically total small business designations), while simultaneously holding seats on larger, full-and-open, multi-billion-dollar IDIQs where it competes against prime contractors of all sizes for task orders. This dual posture — small-business set-aside prime work on tactical radio and accessory orders combined with full-and-open delivery orders on larger engineering and sustainment vehicles — positions Persistent Systems as both a small-business focused competitor and a participant in enterprise-scale federal procurement vehicles serving military and civilian defense customers.

Leading provider of Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) technology through patented Wave Relay System which delivers the highest quality and reliable communications in any location.