Persistent Systems LLC

Persistent Systems LLC, a New York-based manufacturer and supplier of mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) systems, operates as a prime contractor on the vast majority of its federal awards (81% of recent activity) and manufactures proprietary Wave Relay tactical radio equipment and related components for defense and civilian agencies. The company qualifies as a small business and competes under small business set-asides on a significant share of its work, though it also pursues full-and-open procurements; across recent awards, roughly 35% carry total small business designations.

Persistent Systems' core federal capability centers on Wave Relay MANET platforms—self-healing mesh networking systems with integrated voice, video, and data transmission for contested or infrastructure-limited environments—complemented by embedded RF modules, antennas, batteries, tactical radio kits (particularly the MPU5 series), cables, accessories, and specialized operator training. The company also manufactures ruggedized display and controller systems, datalink components, and provides research and development and sustainment engineering. Representative prime contract work includes a $41.8 million five-year ICBM Wave Relay Tactical Assault Kit (WARTAK) sustainment contract with Air Force Materiel Command (awarded September 2024, ultimate completion September 2029); a $7.5 million total small business set-aside definitive contract with Air Mobility Command for smart handheld radios compatible with Android Team Awareness Kit (awarded September 2024, ultimate completion March 2025); a $5.2 million purchase order with Air Mobility Command for MPU5 radio kits and peripherals supporting contingency response groups (awarded September 2023, ultimate completion August 2024); and multiple smaller purchase orders and delivery orders across Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, FBI, and Pacific Air Forces, typically valued between $15 thousand and $500 thousand per order for radio equipment, components, and training.

Customer concentration by award count is spread across 66 distinct agencies, with the top five accounting for 45% of recent awards. Army Space and Missile Defense Command leads in volume (78 awards, $97.5 million combined potential value), followed by Naval Air Systems Command and Naval Air Warfare Center combined (72 awards, $31 million), U.S. Special Operations Command (47 awards, $28.2 million), Naval Sea Systems Command (27 awards, $984 million), and FBI Headquarters Division (25 awards, $108.7 million). A significant divergence exists between award-count and dollar-value rankings: while Army SMDC dominates volume, Naval Sea Systems Command anchors most potential dollars through a single $982.1 million multiple-award Indefinite Delivery Contract for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems (awarded June 2024, ultimate completion April 2029), followed by Air Force awards ($957.7 million combined potential value across 20 awards). This concentration skew reflects Persistent Systems' position on large parent vehicles that generate high ceiling values but lower individual order volumes.

Persistent Systems holds seats on five primary vehicle platforms. The Army Space and Missile Defense Command IDC W911QY14D0016 anchors the largest activity stream, with 78 task orders carrying $48.6 million combined potential value; this vehicle is the source of the vendor's highest-value individual awards (the $41.8 million WARTAK contract and multiple $2–5 million R&D and procurement orders). The Naval Sea Systems Command Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems IDIQ (N0002424D6385, $982.1 million ceiling) generates steady component and engineering task orders. The company also holds seats on GSA Multiple Award Schedule (37 task orders, $2.9 million combined potential value), Indefinite Delivery Contract H9222211D0081 (35 task orders, $12.1 million), and several smaller vehicles. Additionally, Persistent Systems recently joined the Missile Defense Agency's Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) $151 billion multi-award IDIQ (awarded December 2025, ultimate completion December 2035), though activity to date consists of a single $500 initial order. The company also holds or has held positions on the $46 billion Eglin Wide Agile Acquisition Contract (EWAAC) and the $950 million Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) IDIQ, though the source does not indicate current active standing on these vehicles beyond historical delivery orders.

Activity trajectory shows growth from 2022 through 2024 (30 awards in 2022 to 68 in 2024), followed by a decline to 58 awards in 2025 and only 19 awards to date in 2026 (through October 2026). Seven awards carrying combined potential value of $79.6 million reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months (recompete window through October 2027), representing material recompete exposure and opportunity for competitors on Army SMDC and other Army/Navy platforms.

Persistent Systems operates as a subcontractor to tier-one primes across defense industrial base. Subcontractor roles include supplying Wave Relay equipment and tactical networking components to Raytheon (multiple ATSP and Coyote interceptor task orders), Booz Allen Hamilton (TEST & EVALUATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR RANGES, ARMAMENTS AND SPECTRUM—TETRAS—autonomous weapon system design and C-SUAS command and control programs), Northrop Grumman (GBSD Engineering and Manufacturing Development, enhanced Coyote Block 2 prototype), Lockheed Martin (technical collection and communication LCSM services), General Dynamics (global security engineering and supply chain services), Amentum Services (C5ISR Prototyping Integration Facility support at Aberdeen, Maryland), L3Harris (BIG SAFARI), HII Mission Technologies (naval surface warfare center special projects and operational testing), and others. The subcontractor footprint shows steady engagement with tier-one systems integrators on both advanced development and operational programs, with Persistent Systems supplying radio modules, antennas, embedded systems, batteries, and related networking equipment. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, the vendor uses subcontractors for approximately 9% of total contractor hours, indicating a primarily organic delivery model.

SCI-reported federal service contract invoicing totaled $8.8 million across three prime records spanning FY2022–FY2024, with $4.5 million in FY2022 and $4.3 million in FY2023; the FY2024 prime record shows zero invoicing in the SCI dataset, reflecting the vendor's shift toward goods-dominant procurement (radios, components, assemblies) and the SCI reporting threshold of $150 thousand for service contracts. Across those records, government-paid hourly rates for prime service delivery ran around $169/hr at median, ranging from $160/hr at the tenth percentile to $178/hr at the ninetieth percentile, positioning the vendor in the mid-market range for federal tactical communications services. The vendor delivered approximately 10.8 FTEs in FY2022 and 12.0 FTEs in FY2023 on SCI-reportable service contracts; the sharp drop to 1.8 FTEs in FY2024 reflects the transition away from service-contract-dominant work streams. These SCI metrics represent a small fraction of the vendor's total federal revenue (combined potential value $48.45 billion across all awards) and capture only contracts exceeding $150 thousand in service content; the bulk of Persistent Systems' federal revenue derives from goods procurement—radios, components, embedded systems—which fall outside SCI reporting scope.

Federal grant activity is minimal: the source names two sub-recipient grant awards (National Center for Manufacturing Sciences on Expeditionary Ship Repair Innovation, December 2023; and an unnamed sub-grantee for emergency communications radios, November 2023), indicating limited recipient or sub-recipient positioning in federal grant programs relative to the vendor's defense contract dominance.

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.