Missile Defense Agency SHIELD Contract Expansion
The Missile Defense Agency has awarded an additional 340 contracts under its Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense contract, further expanding one of the largest missile defense acquisition vehicles ever established by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The latest awards bring the total number of SHIELD contract recipients to 2,440, following the initial 1,014 awards announced on December 2, 2025, and a second tranche of 1,086 awards issued on December 18, 2025. The SHIELD contract carries a total ceiling value of $151 billion and is structured as a multiple award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity vehicle.
According to the Missile Defense Agency, SHIELD is designed to allow MDA and other Department of Defense organizations to rapidly compete task orders under a single enterprise framework, reducing acquisition timelines while expanding access to a broad industrial base.
Flexible Enterprise Vehicle for Missile Defense Innovation
The SHIELD missile defense contract is intended to support a wide range of mission areas tied to homeland and regional missile defense. Work under the contract may include system design, development, integration, testing, production, sustainment, and digital modernization efforts.
MDA stated that the contract emphasizes the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning enabled applications where applicable. The framework also prioritizes digital engineering, open systems architectures, model based systems engineering, and agile acquisition processes.
No funding is obligated at the base contract level. Funds will be applied at the task order level as specific requirements are competed and awarded among the contract holders.
Nationwide Performance Through 2035
Performance under the SHIELD contract will take place across the United States, reflecting the nationwide scope of missile defense research, development, and sustainment activities.
If all contract options are exercised, work under SHIELD could continue through December 2035. This long term horizon is intended to provide stability for industry partners while allowing the Missile Defense Agency to adapt quickly to evolving threats and emerging technologies.
The contract was competitively procured through the System for Award Management website, with MDA receiving a total of 2,463 offers across all award rounds. The high number of submissions highlights strong industry interest in supporting U.S. missile defense modernization efforts.
Strategic Importance for U.S. Missile Defense
The expansion of the SHIELD missile defense program reflects the Department of Defense focus on accelerating innovation in response to increasingly complex ballistic and hypersonic threats.
By using a large scale IDIQ vehicle, the Missile Defense Agency can rapidly bring new companies, technologies, and nontraditional vendors into the missile defense ecosystem. This approach is intended to reduce development risk, encourage competition, and improve the speed at which new capabilities reach operational units.
MDA, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, is serving as the contracting activity for the SHIELD program under contract number HQ085925RE001.
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