Category: Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (“ADG”)

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.

Continue reading “Preliminary Takeaways as DoD Seeks to Redesign the Defense Acquisition System for Wartime Speed”

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

Jennifer A. Short, and Oliver E. Jury ●

Jennifer A. Short headshot image

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.

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

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.

Continue reading “U.S. Department of State Eases Military Drone Export Review Policy”

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.”

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

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.

Other Transactions: A Flexible and Efficient Acquisition Tool for the Department of Defense

Scott Arnold and Samarth Barot ●

On March 6, 2025, the Defense Secretary released a memorandum directing the Department of Defense (“DoD”) to adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway (“SWP”) to speed up the development, procurement, and delivery of software needed for weapons and business systems. Specifically, the memorandum directed DoD to use Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transactions (“OTs”) as the default solicitation and award approaches for acquiring capabilities under the SWP. As a result, we are likely to see an expansion in DoD’s use of OTs. Thus, contractors should be aware of the rules and regulations regarding OTs.

Background

While OTs have been in the news a lot these days, they are not a new concept. OTs date back to 1958, when Congress granted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) the authority to enter into transactions other than contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements in order to foster innovation and speed in the space race.

Continue reading “Other Transactions: A Flexible and Efficient Acquisition Tool for the Department of Defense”

What Is DMSMS and What to Do About It?

David L. Bodner and Dominique L. Casimir ●

What does DMSMS mean?

DMSMS stands for Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages. It is the loss or impending loss of manufacturers or suppliers of items, raw materials, or software. In other words, DMSMS is obsolescence. DMSMS occurs when companies (at any level of the supply chain) that make products, raw materials, or software stop doing so or are about to stop. DMSMS issues can occur for various reasons, such as technological advancements, shifts in market demand, regulatory changes, or a manufacturer’s strategic business decision.

Where can contractors find DMSMS requirements?

DMSMS requirements are typically found in prime contracts. Specifically, a Statement of Work (“SOW”) can describe DMSMS requirements such as: a DMSMS Management Plan, a Bill of Materials, Health Status Reports, End of Life Notices, and various other requirements to mitigate DMSMS risks. The contract may use Contract Data Requirements Lists (“CDRLs”) to specify the content of deliverables, the inspection and acceptance process, and the frequency of delivery (e.g., the Contractor must deliver a Health Status Report “monthly” or an End of Life Notice “as required”).

Continue reading “What Is DMSMS and What to Do About It?”

60-Second Sustains: TISTA Science and Technology Corporation

Elizabeth N. Jochum and David L. Bodner ●

Protest of: TISTA Science and Technology Corporation
B-422891.2; .3; .4

  • TISTA challenged the issuance of a task order by the National Institutes of Health to Tantus Technologies, alleging the agency engaged in unequal treatment of the offerors.
  • The Agency assessed a strength to the awardee for proposing to maintain a “warm bench” of candidates to meet potential surge staffing needs. On the other hand, it assessed a weakness to TISTA for proposing to maintain bench strength with a pool of pre-vetted candidates.
  • The Agency argued there was a distinction in the proposals in that the awardee’s “warm bench” was made up exclusively of existing employees, while TISTA’s would need to hire surge candidates.
  • The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) rejected the Agency’s argument, finding that both quotations provided for surge staffing with a mix of existing and yet-to-be-hired employees, and sustained the protester’s allegation of disparate treatment.
  • GAO similarly found unequal treatment in the Agency’s decision to assign a strength to the awardee for its use of a “master schedule,” when it did not assign a strength to the protester for proposing use of a “master tracker.”

President Trump Signs New Executive Order: “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative”—What Federal Contractors Need to Know

Dominique L. Casimir, Justin A. Chiarodo, and David L. Bodner ●


On February 26, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) that states that it “commences a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and Government employees are accountable to the American public.” Here’s what government contractors need to know.

Who Does the EO Apply To?

The EO is primarily directed at Agency Heads and contemplates that each Agency Head will work closely with its Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) Team Lead on a number of activities intended to reduce federal spending and root out fraud, waste, and abuse. (On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed EO 14158 establishing DOGE and requiring each agency to have a DOGE Team Lead to “advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President’s DOGE Agenda.”).

Continue reading “President Trump Signs New Executive Order: “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative”—What Federal Contractors Need to Know”
Exit mobile version
%%footer%%