Smaller War Plants Now Has a Website — Still No SAM.gov Path
An MOU can map capacity. It cannot obligate a dollar. Read the paperwork in verbs.
8 min readRead brief
INSIGHTS / INTELLIGENCE ARCHIVERead what
Read what
moves first.
Congress Weekly and defense market briefs for leaders who need to understand what changed, why it matters, and what to do next.
6 briefs · Filters update the URL so the archive state is shareable.
Congress Weekly: Seven Up, Two Bills Short
Congress posted two unmatched lineup cards. A continuing resolution is not a new-start plan.
12 min readRead brief
Congress Weekly: Brewers Take the Lead While Congress Stalls
A stopgap funding deal moved, the FY27 NDAA did not, and small businesses still face an unsettled acquisition calendar.
6 min readRead brief
AI and Machine Learning: Why I Spent 80 Hours a Week Studying It So You Don’t Have To
For small defense firms, owning the model and controlling the environment can be the practical escape from exposure and metered cost.
6 min readRead brief
CMMC Is Now a Contract Gate — The Statutes Behind It
Cybersecurity and industrial-base posture are moving from competitive edge to condition of doing business.
9 min readRead brief
The Pentagon’s Autonomy Bet: Acquisition Reality
A budget request becomes a capture opportunity only after the pathway, buyer, and transition logic are visible.
7 min readRead brief
04 / BOARD
SIGNAL BOARDWhat we watch
What we watch
before it moves.
Illustrative categories of public signals DIA monitors. The point is not more news; it is a better decision.
01APPROPRIATIONS+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
Where money is being added, held, or moved.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When a line changes the timing or size of a potential action.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Whether to staff, watch, or reposition a pursuit.
02AUTHORIZATION+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
What Congress is directing or signaling before funds move.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When report language or policy creates an acquisition condition.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Which policy, program, or Hill packet needs attention.
03SAM.GOV+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
The formal market signal after much of the shaping has occurred.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When the requirement is now public and response timing is real.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Whether the team is ready to respond or already late.
04SBIR / STTR+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
A transition lane, not just a research award.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When a prototype can become a Phase III or follow-on path.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Which transition vehicle is worth building around.
05OTA+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
A possible path around traditional procurement sequencing.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When speed, prototype status, and consortium access align.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Whether OTA is a real entry path or just a label.
06AWARDS+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
Who is actually receiving obligations, options, and work.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When incumbent behavior changes competitive density.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Where to partner, differentiate, or decline.
07PROGRAM MOVEMENT+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
Organizational changes, leadership shifts, and schedule pressure.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When the buyer map or evaluation logic is changing.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
Who needs to hear from you next.
08CONGRESSIONAL LANGUAGE+
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
The words attached to programs, gaps, and industrial-base concerns.
WHEN IT MATTERS
When language points to a future requirement or constraint.
DECISION IT CAN INFORM
What to monitor before it becomes a solicitation.
05 / GLOSSARY
INTELLIGENCE GLOSSARYMake the
Make the
language useful.
Lightweight definitions for terms that recur in defense acquisition and capture conversations.
TERMOTA+
DEFINITION
Other Transaction Authority: a statutory authority used for certain prototype, research, and follow-on production agreements outside the standard FAR structure.
TERMIDIQ+
DEFINITION
Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity: a contract vehicle that sets terms for future orders without guaranteeing a particular quantity.
TERMSBIR+
DEFINITION
Small Business Innovation Research: a federal program that funds small-business R&D in staged phases.
TERMSTTR+
DEFINITION
Small Business Technology Transfer: a program requiring formal collaboration between a small business and a research institution.
TERMBAA+
DEFINITION
Broad Agency Announcement: a notice used to solicit proposals for basic and applied research topics.
TERMRFI+
DEFINITION
Request for Information: a market-research request used to inform an agency’s understanding before a solicitation.
TERMPOM+
DEFINITION
Program Objective Memorandum: a component’s submission describing planned programs and resources across the future-years cycle.
TERMFYDP+
DEFINITION
Future Years Defense Program: the five-year projection of defense programs and funding that supports planning and budgeting.