Lockheed Martin has secured a maximum $80 million U.S. Air Force task order to modernize and maintain software supporting the Strategic Mission Planning and Execution System Global Strike Product Support (SMPES GSPS), a system associated with strategic mission planning and nuclear command, control and communications activities.
The task order, awarded through the General Services Administration’s Alliant 2 governmentwide acquisition contract, covers software engineering, application modernization, continuous maintenance, sustainment and architectural updates.
According to the November 3, 2026, contract announcement, work will be performed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, with completion expected by January 19, 2030. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is managing the award under contract number FA2217-27-F-B001.
What the $80 Million Award Covers
The contract focuses on maintaining and improving the existing SMPES GSPS applications suite rather than introducing a publicly announced new weapons system.
Lockheed Martin will provide several categories of technical support:
- Agile software engineering: Continued development and modification of mission planning applications.
- System modernization: Updates to existing software and supporting technologies.
- Continuous maintenance: Ongoing technical support to maintain application availability and performance.
- Sustainment: Long-term support for operational software.
- Architectural updates: Changes to the underlying software architecture as operational and technical requirements evolve.
The award uses a time-and-materials contract structure and has a maximum value of $80 million.
Importantly, the maximum contract value should not be confused with the amount initially committed by the government.
The Air Force is obligating $868,270 in fiscal 2027 operations and maintenance funding and $500,000 in research, development, test and evaluation funding at the time of award.
That brings the initial obligation to $1.368 million, with further funding potentially provided as work proceeds under the task order.
The acquisition was competitive, although the government received only one offer.
Why SMPES GSPS Matters to U.S. Strategic Command
SMPES GSPS supports a specialized area of U.S. military operations: strategic mission planning and execution.
Its importance is linked to the software infrastructure used to support planning activities for the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).
Lockheed Martin previously described its Global Strike and Product Support work as providing nuclear command, control and communications planning capabilities for USSTRATCOM’s mission planning and analysis system.
In a May 2021 company announcement, Lockheed Martin also discussed its involvement in establishing the Rogue Blue Software Factory in partnership with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.
The software factory was established to develop mission planning and command-and-control applications supporting U.S. Strategic Command.
Lockheed Martin said the GSPS team had implemented 12 software pipelines across three laboratories and introduced a cloud-based development environment. The company reported that this approach reduced the time required to deliver software capabilities from six months to two weeks.
Those figures describe the company’s reported development environment in 2021, not independently verified performance measurements for the newly awarded task order.
Software Modernization Is Part of Strategic Force Readiness
The award highlights an important aspect of maintaining U.S. strategic military capabilities.
Strategic forces depend on more than aircraft, missiles, submarines and communications hardware. Their operational effectiveness also relies on software that supports planning, coordination, information management and command functions.
Mission planning applications must remain compatible with evolving computing environments, security requirements and operational procedures.
Outdated software architectures can create maintenance difficulties, increase cybersecurity exposure and make it harder to introduce new capabilities. Continuous engineering and modernization help address these challenges.
For systems supporting strategic command activities, software reliability and the ability to maintain secure operations are particularly important.
However, the Air Force has not publicly detailed the specific architectural changes, cybersecurity upgrades or new operational features included in the $80 million task order.
The contract announcement also does not identify particular software modules, classified mission-planning functions or measurable capability improvements.
Consequently, the award should be viewed primarily as a software modernization and sustainment investment rather than evidence of a new strategic weapons capability.
Lockheed Martin’s Previous Work on Global Strike Software
Lockheed Martin has an established relationship with the Air Force’s strategic mission-planning software environment.
Its earlier work through the GSPS effort included development activities associated with the Rogue Blue Software Factory, which was designed to support faster delivery of mission planning and command-and-control applications.
The company’s experience with this software environment provides relevant context for the latest award.
Separately, a July 2024 industry-day notice concerning the Strategic Mission Planning and Execution System identified Global Strike and Product Support among several software application areas within the broader SMPES portfolio.
Other identified areas included the Nuclear Planning and Execution System, Missile Applications Software Support and Air Vehicle Planning System.
The notice also showed that the Air Force was examining future software acquisition requirements across the SMPES portfolio.
The November 2026 task order continues investment in one of these application areas, although the available award information does not establish whether it represents a complete replacement of an earlier contract or a continuation of an existing support arrangement.
Contract Details
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Contractor | Lockheed Martin Corp. |
| Contractor location | Manassas, Virginia |
| Maximum task order value | $80 million |
| Contract type | Time-and-materials |
| Acquisition vehicle | GSA Alliant 2 |
| Program | SMPES GSPS |
| Contract number | FA2217-27-F-B001 |
| Contracting agency | Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center |
| Work location | Offutt AFB, Nebraska |
| Initial funding | $1.368 million |
| Competition | Competitive, one offer received |
| Expected completion | January 19, 2030 |
The latest award provides funding authority for continued engineering and technical support through the end of the current performance period. Its longer-term impact will depend on the software changes delivered, the requirements addressed and the system’s continued role in U.S. strategic command operations.
