# Department of War Awards $318M AI Alerting Contract

The U.S. Department of War awarded a **$318 million** five-year contract to Dataminr on August 26, 2026, to provide AI-powered situational awareness and real-time alerting services under the A2 Publicly Available Information Alerting program. This contract, managed by the Air Force, supports intelligence dissemination and force protection across all military branches and unified commands through June 2031. Concurrently, the Department of War announced multiple other significant contracts totaling billions for aerospace systems, cybersecurity modernization, missile support, and infrastructure projects across 25 states, including key facilities such as Joint Base Andrews, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Joint Base-San Antonio Lackland. These awards highlight the Pentagon's strategic emphasis on integrating advanced AI technologies and modernizing defense capabilities with broad opportunities for contractors specializing in AI, defense technology, cybersecurity, and logistics.

- **Key agencies involved:** U.S. Department of War, Air Force, Army, Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, and NATO through Task Force Maven
- **Why this matters:** The Dataminr contract establishes a critical AI-driven intelligence platform for real-time situational awareness, reinforcing the DoD's AI-first strategy and expanding market opportunities for AI and data analytics providers
- The broad portfolio of contracts across multiple states and military installations signals sustained demand for aerospace production, cybersecurity modernization, missile systems, and infrastructure construction
- Contractors should evaluate opportunities in AI-enabled defense technologies, cybersecurity services, and logistics support, especially given the multi-year contract durations extending through 2031-2032
- Small and woman-owned businesses may find targeted opportunities within the diverse contract awards, including IDIQ vehicles for countermeasure systems and technical support services

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Information Technology
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Infrastructure, Cybersecurity
**Published:** September 01, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of War (DOW)
- Department of Defense (DoD)
- U.S. Air Force (Air Force)
- Army Contracting Command (ACC)
- Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)

### Vendors
- DATAMINR (awardee)
- Research Innovations Inc. (awardee)
- AECOM Technical Services Inc. (awardee)
- Torch Technologies (awardee)
- Symetrics Industries LLC dba Extant Aerospace (prime contractor)

### Key Quotes
> First Alert Advanced is a giant leap forward for NATO’s real-time intelligence picture.
> — Colonel Arnel David, Director of Task Force Maven, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)

### Sources
- [
	Contracts for Aug. 26, 2026 > U.S. Department of War > Contract | U.S. Department of War
](https://www.war.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4583752/contracts-for-aug-26-2026) - U.S. Department of War (.gov)
- [Pentagon awards $318M contract for Dataminr alerting services technology | DefenseScoop](https://defensescoop.com/2026/08/27/pentagon-awards-dataminr-318m-contract) - DefenseScoop
- [Air Force Pays $318M for Dataminr AI That Pre-Warned Police of Protests: No Oversight](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/325717/20260827/air-force-pays-318m-dataminr-ai-that-pre-warned-police-protests-no-oversight.htm) - Tech Times