Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (“ADG”) Archives

Decoupling from Chinese Chips: Unpacking the Proposed Section 5949 Supply Chain Ban

In December 2022, we discussed the passage of Section 5949 of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), which introduced prohibitions on certain semiconductor products and services from designated Chinese manufacturers. At the time, the statute’s scope remained unclear, particularly regarding whether the restrictions would apply only to federal sales or extend to contractor “use” of covered technologies, similar to Section 889’s Part B prohibition. On February 17, 2026, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council released a proposed rule that provides important clarity on these questions and establishes a compliance framework for government contractors.

Blank Rome Welcomes Nicole Islinger as Partner in Washington, D.C., Strengthening Corporate Practice and Aerospace, Defense & Government Services Industry Team

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Nicole Islinger has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the Corporate, M&A, and Securities group and as a member of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (“ADG”) and Technology industry teams. She brings deep transactional experience centered on mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), with substantial experience in government contracting, technology, and private equity. Nicole, who began her career as an associate at Blank Rome, rejoins the firm from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

“We are excited to welcome Nicole to our Washington, D.C., office and our national corporate practice,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Her deep experience in government contracts M&A and her practical insight into the federal marketplace and procurement landscape will bring meaningful advantages to clients pursuing growth in the aerospace, defense, and government services sector. Nicole’s ability to help companies navigate the unique demands of federal acquisitions makes her a valuable addition to our national corporate team.”

Nicole is an experienced M&A attorney with a strong track record guiding companies through complex transactions in the government contracting and technology sectors. She has deep experience advising small business government contractors on founder-led, sell-side M&A, as well as buyers and sellers navigating the unique regulatory and commercial considerations of the federal marketplace. Her practice also extends to helping international companies enter and operate in the U.S. government contracting space, where she regularly advises on market entry strategies and related international trade considerations.

Read the full press release on our website.

DOJ Announces Record-Breaking False Claims Act Recoveries in FY 2025: What the Stats Portend for 2026

Jennifer A. Short and Oliver E. Jury ●

Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025 yielded a historic high of over $6.8 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments, underscoring the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) aggressive enforcement. DOJ’s annual report, released January 16, 2026, showed that healthcare fraud matters again dominated the lion’s share of the moneys recovered, accounting for more than $5.7 billion, and reaffirming the sector’s centrality to FCA priorities. Qui tam lawsuits also retained an outsized influence, representing approximately $5.3 billion in recoveries for both intervened ($3.0 billion) and declined ($2.3 billion) cases. On the flip side, that means the government recovered some $1.5 billion without the aid of an underlying whistleblower complaint. The pipeline of new cases looks robust moving forward: whistleblowers filed a record 1,297 new qui tam suits, and DOJ opened 401 new investigations.

Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting—What Does the New EO Mean for Contractors?

Scott Arnold ●

President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) on January 7, 2025, that seeks improved performance of defense contracts and enhanced contractor investments in production capacity through measures that would impose limits on executive compensation when contractor performance or investment levels are deemed inadequate. The EO, Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting, appears predicated on the belief that “after years of misplaced priorities, traditional defense contractors have been incentivized to prioritize investor returns over the Nations’s warfighters.” To address this, the EO states that “[m]ajor defense contractors will no longer conduct stock buy-backs or issue dividends at the expense of accelerated procurement and increased production capacity.” While the desire to improve defense contract performance is understandable, the attempt to do so through regulation of executive compensation is unprecedented.

What Does the EO Require?

The EO sets forth two key mechanisms through which the new priorities will be implemented.

Preliminary Takeaways as DoD Seeks to Redesign the Defense Acquisition System for Wartime Speed

Oliver E. Jury ●

During a speech before key players in the defense industrial base on Friday, November 7, Secretary Hegseth announced plans for a sweeping transformation of the Defense Acquisition System, redesignating it as the Warfighting Acquisition System (“WAS”) and elevating speed-to-field as the organizing principle. The reforms would concentrate authority, expand competition and modularity, adopt commercial-first pathways, modernize contracting and training, and streamline oversight—all aimed at accelerating capability delivery and scaling industrial capacity for surge. While much will depend on how these announced changes are implemented, in this post we highlight key aspects of the changes and identify potential impacts to monitor. Secretary Hegseth’s full recorded remarks are available on C-SPAN’s website.

Redesignation and Organizing Principle

Acquisition is to be treated as a warfighting function, with every process required to justify its value to timely capability delivery. The WAS will reframe success around time-to-capability rather than exhaustive specification compliance.

Potential impact: Companies should expect solicitations and evaluations to prioritize schedule credibility and operational outcomes, reshaping win strategies toward demonstrable speed and adaptability.

E‑Verify, FAR 52.222‑54, and Renewed FCA Risk: What Contractors Need to Know

Jennifer A. Short, and Oliver E. Jury ●

The current administration’s focus on immigration played out in a recent False Claims Act (“FCA”) matter in which a federal contractor was alleged to have billed for unauthorized workers in violation of FAR 52.222‑54 (Employment Eligibility Verification, “E-Verify”).

On September 18, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Bayonne Drydock and Repair Corporation (“Bayonne”) agreed to pay $4,043,810.56 to resolve allegations that unauthorized workers worked on Bayonne’s Navy contracts over multiple years.

According to DOJ’s press release, in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) sent a “Notice of Suspect Documents” to a subcontractor controlled by Bayonne’s Risk Manager, questioning the work authorization of certain subcontractor employees. While the Risk Manager terminated the unauthorized employees, she re-hired some of them through another subcontractor that she controlled. Bayonne’s settlement agreement with DOJ asserts that between 2016 and 2020, Bayonne billed the government for the work of approximately 52 unauthorized employees working for entities owned or controlled by Bayonne’s Risk Manager. The settlement agreement also confirmed that the Risk Manager pled guilty to criminal charges stemming from her role with Bayonne and its subcontractors.

U.S. Department of State Eases Military Drone Export Review Policy

Anthony Rapa and Patrick F. Collins ●

The U.S. Department of State (“State”) announced an update to its miliary drone export review policy on September 15, 2025, pursuant to which advanced unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”) will be subject to an export control policy similar to that of crewed aircraft, rather than more restrictive review applicable to missiles. Key takeaways include:

1. Policy Shift: Drones Reviewed Like Fighter Jets, Not Missiles

State announced that pursuant to the policy change, it will consider requests to export UAS similarly to how it reviews requests to export crewed fighter aircraft, rather than as missile systems. This marks a departure from the longstanding application of the Missile Technology Control Regime (“MTCR”) to exports of certain UAS, which imposed a strong presumption against the transfer of large, weaponizable drones due to their range and payload capabilities and provided for rigorous review of other UAS transfers.

60-Second Sustains: BrightPoint, LLC

Elizabeth N. Jochum and David L. Bodner ●

Protest of: BrightPoint, LLC
B-423392, B-423392.2, B-423392.3

BrightPoint raised numerous challenges to the Department of Agriculture’s evaluation and award of a task order for information technology services.
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) sustained one protest ground: that the discriminators identified by the Agency to justify its award decision were based on the awardee’s experience with work unrelated to the anticipated work scope and also possessed and demonstrated by Brightpoint.
In response to this protest ground, the Agency argued “in general terms” that its evaluation was reasonable and equal.
But GAO noted that the Agency did not demonstrate a connection between the Solicitation’s requirements and the positive findings it gave to the awardee’s experience.
The Agency also did not “meaningfully respond” to Brightpoint’s allegations of unequal treatment, stating only that it treated offerors equally.
GAO determined that, but for the discriminators identified in favor of the awardee, Brightpoint might have been selected for award, even at a small price premium.
GAO recommended the Agency reevaluate the prior experience volumes and make a new source selection decision.

All-Points Bulletin for Defense Contractors: If You’re 15% Behind Schedule or 15% Over Budget, You Need a Strategy

Dominique L. Casimir ●

On April 9, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) titled Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base. This EO seeks to overhaul many aspects of defense acquisition in order to enhance the military capabilities and streamline the Department of Defense’s (“DOD”) procurement processes. While every presidential administration seeks to streamline and facilitate defense procurement, this EO contains noteworthy approaches that defense contractors should be aware of. For instance, the EO suggests that the government has an appetite for “risk” when it comes to DOD procurements: “We will also modernize the duties and composition of the defense acquisition workforce, as well as incentivize and reward risk-taking and innovation from these personnel.”

Dominique L. Casimir and Justin A. Chiarodo Named to Law360’s 2025 Editorial Advisory Boards

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Government Contracts partners Dominique L. Casimir and Justin A. Chiarodo have been named to Law360’s 2025 Editorial Advisory Boards. As board members, the partners will provide feedback on Law360’s coverage and share insights on how to best shape future coverage.

Dominique, who serves as co-chair of Blank Rome’s General Litigation practice group, has been named to Law360’s 2025 Diversity & Inclusion Editorial Advisory Board. In 2022, she served on Law360’s Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board.

Justin, who serves as chair of our firm’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services industry team and co-chair of our firm’s Government Contracts practice group, has been named to Law360’s Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board for the third time.

Learn more about other Blank Rome partners serving on Law360’s 2025 Editorial Advisory Boards on our website.

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Redesignation and Organizing Principle

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