# Leidos Challenges Colorado Springs NISSC III Award

Leidos has protested the U.S. Space Force’s September 2026 award of a **$572 million, seven-year NISSC III task order** to Amentum for operations support at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs. Leidos alleges errors in the agency’s price and past-performance evaluations, handling of proposal revisions, and discussions. The Government Accountability Office expects to rule by January 29; the protest could affect the award’s timing or terms and creates near-term uncertainty for this defense-support requirement.

- Amentum is the awardee, while Leidos is the protesting competitor; the work supports system administration, vulnerability management, organizational-level maintenance, and testing at Cheyenne Mountain.
- The GAO decision may affect when or under what terms the work proceeds. Contractors tracking this requirement should account for that uncertainty in related staffing, transition, and opportunity planning.
- The protest’s evaluation issues may be relevant to bidders preparing proposals for comparable task orders: the allegations specifically concern price evaluation, proposal revisions, discussions, and past performance.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** November 02, 2026

### Government Entities
- United States Space Force (USSF)
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)

### Vendors
- Leidos (protester and competing bidder)
- Amentum (awardee and incumbent)

### Sources
- [Leidos challenges $572M NORAD contract that went to Amentum - Washington Technology](https://www.washingtontechnology.com/contracts/2026/11/leidos-challenges-572m-norad-contract-went-amentum/416966) - Washington Technology