Article
A first look at the Golden Dome for America contract: MDA’s SHIELD
Sept. 5, 2025 · Authored by Leo Alvarez, Dylan Schreiner, Steven Pomykalski
On July 25, 2025, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) multiple award indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (MA-IDIQ) contract. As a long-planned strategy, SHIELD will allow MDA and other U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) entities to rapidly issue orders under one enterprise flexible vehicle. The primary purpose of this contract is to permit the MDA and other DOD agencies to streamline and optimize the acquisition of missile defense systems, and related maintenance, operations and development services as the agency sets out to develop the ambitious Golden Dome for America (GDA).
| Contract Details | |
| Agency | Missile Defense Agency |
| Estimated official RFP release date | Q4 of fiscal year 2025 |
| Contract vehicle type | Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (MA-IDIQ) |
| Ordering procedures | Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505 |
| Duration | 10 years (three-year base, plus three two-year option periods) |
| Maximum contract value | $151 billion |
| RFP type | All qualified offerors |
Scope of contract
The MDA requires an advanced, multidomain defense system capable of detecting, tracking, intercepting and neutralizing threats to the United States homeland, its deployed forces, allies and friends across all phases of flight by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles and other advanced aerial attacks. This contract will support national defense objectives by ensuring continuous, layered protection against air, missile, space, cyber and hybrid threats originating from any vector — land, sea, air, space or cyberspace. This effort supports services and supplies of both classified and unclassified programs on multiple security domains.
Missile defense in-scope areas
While the primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to the SHIELD contract for administrative purposes is 541715 (Research and Development in The Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)), the SHIELD draft RFP includes an attachment of 40 additional NAICS codes that can be used at the task/delivery order level. In addition to the 40 additional NAICS codes for ordering purposes, the draft RFP also highlighted 19 in-scope areas as it relates to “a missile defense or similarly related application”. These 19 scope areas are as follows:
- Science and Technology (S&T)
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Prototyping
- Studies, Demonstrations, Testing of Prototypes
- Disruptive Technologies
- Experimentation
- Architecture Development
- Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis
- Systems Engineering
- Weapon Design and Development
- Integration and Assembly
- Production and Fielding
- Test and Evaluation (T&E)
- Operation and Sustainment
- Modernization
- Hardware and Software Modifications
- Data Mining/Collection/Analysis
- Minor Facilities Engineering/Construction
- Cybersecurity
However, offerors should be aware that the scope areas of the SHIELD contract do not include “Advisory and Assistance Services” or “Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance”. These areas are defined in the draft RFP as follows:
| “Advisory or Assistance Services” |
| Management and professional support services: contractual services that provide assistance, advice or training for the efficient and effective management and operation of organizations, activities (including management and support services for research and development (R&D) activities), or systems. |
| Studies, analyses and evaluations: contracted services that provide organized, analytical assessments/evaluations in support of policy development, decision-making, management or administration. |
| Engineering and technical services: contractual services used to support the program office during the acquisition cycle by providing such services as systems engineering and technical direction (see FAR 9.505-1(b)) to ensure the effective operation and maintenance of a weapon system. |
| “Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance” |
| Systems engineering: an interdisciplinary technical effort to evolve and verify an integrated and total life cycle balanced set of system, people and process solutions that satisfy customer needs. |
| Technical assistance: acquisition support, program management support, analyses and other activities involved in the management and execution of an acquisition program. |
| Systems engineering and technical assistance: a combination of activities related to the development of technical information to support various acquisition processes. |
Proposal responses and evaluation criteria
The MDA SHIELD proposal response consists of two volumes.
- Volume I — Administrative Submission
- Volume II — Technical
Volume I consists of typical administrative proposal response items, such as a
- Signed Standard Form 33 (SF33),
- Cover letter addressing the required content per FAR 52.215-1(c)(2) paragraphs (i)-(v),
- Indication if the offeror has a Facility Clearance Level (Note: a FCL is not required, but awardees without one will be limited in what task orders they can bid on)
- Section K representations and certifications
- Bankruptcy/adverse financial information
- Proof of financial capability and stability
- Foreign ownership disclosure
- Conflict of interest form
- Small business subcontracting plan (Note: if an offeror is an other than small business (OTSB) in any of the 40 applicable SHIELD NAICS codes, then a small business subcontracting plan is required)
Volume II, the technical volume, consists of a single evaluation factor — corporate experience — which requires the offeror to complete a six-page attachment (Attachment L-03 Offeror Response Template) with a minimum of two, but no more than three relevant experience projects demonstrating prior experience in at least two of the 19 in-scope areas related to a missile defense or similarly related application. The Offeror Response Template is the sole document of acceptance for demonstrating relevant project experience and must outline the following:
- Applicable scope area(s) pertaining to Section C of the solicitation
- Whether experience is for the offeror or other member (i.e., joint venture, subcontractor, etc.)
- Role in the project with percentages of work completed vs subcontracted
- Contract number and associated details, award and/or completion date and contract type
