The Department of Defense (DoD) has started to preview new details and expectations on how it plans to reopen a $48 billion technology research-and-development services contract vehicle – the Information Analysis Center Multiple Award Contract (IAC-MAC).
In the next few weeks, the DoD plans to release a final solicitation to reopen IAC-MAC alongside associated requirements documents, according to a pre-solicitation the department released on August 21.
The on-ramping process for IAC-MAC will focus on its first pool – the unrestricted portion – and the second pool that is reserved for small businesses.
According to the pre-solicitation, in Pool 1 the department plans to award three contracts. For Pool 2, the department intends to conduct a partial small business set-aside competition with plans to award two contracts.
Both pools of the IAC MAC vehicle are set to expire on Sept. 29, 2027.
All work under the IAC-MAC vehicle supports the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), a field activity responsible for the preservation and distribution of research information related to military technology. DTIC also manages the IAC network that provides technical analysis and data support for uniformed and civilian Pentagon leadership.
The service branches, combatant commands, other DoD components, and Federal agencies can use the IAC vehicle to acquire research and development services across several areas, including autonomous systems, directed energy, weapons systems, simulation and modeling, cybersecurity, and biometrics.
The IAC-MAC vehicle is the only DoD contract that mandates the investigation of existing scientific and technical information, plus the reporting and sharing of that information generated during a task order’s performance for others to use across the government.
DoD first awarded IAC-MAC in 2018 across three pools of work supporting DTIC to 18 leading defense industry firms with a maximum ceiling value of $28 billion. HII, Booz Allen Hamilton, KBR, and the ManTech TSG-2 joint venture were the top four recipients of that spending.
In September 2022, DoD announced plans to award an additional $20 billion of the $28 billion IAC-MAC vehicle.
