The past month has marked a series of announcements from the Department of War (the “Department”) emphasizing rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (“AI”) industry partnerships.  These announcements signal opportunities for not only the defense industrial base, but also nontraditional defense contractors focused on technology and data.

On January 9, 2026, the Department released two key…

Among the most challenging areas of regulatory compliance for federal contractors are cost accounting and cost and pricing data disclosure requirements.  Indeed, many companies place guardrails on the nature and scale of their business relationships with the U.S. government precisely to avoid the application of these requirements.  In a move that seems consistent with the…

Recently, in Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. United States, the Court of Federal Claims sustained a bid protest, finding that the agency misapplied the Trade Agreements Act (“TAA”) during proposal evaluation.  That decision is a helpful reminder that the Court can be a hospitable forum for challenging an agency’s application of domestic sourcing regulations.…

As fiscal year (“FY”) 2025 closes, both the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) and Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (“CBCA”) released their annual reports.  Together, the two reports provide a useful snapshot of case volumes, outcomes, agency trends, and procedural developments.  We break down the findings and, most importantly, what they mean for…

On November 7, 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used a speech at the National War College to unveil a Department of War (“DoW”) memorandum titled “Transforming the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Urgently Needed Capabilities to Our Warriors.”  This memorandum, referred to throughout as the “WAS Memo”—formally…