ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (December 9, 2025) – The U.S. Army is undergoing a significant transformation in its acquisition processes, prioritizing the rapid integration of commercial technology and the delivery of innovative solutions to the force. Central to this evolution is the Army’s Open Solicitation (AOS), a continuously open contracting vehicle designed to solicit and receive innovative technology submissions from across the industrial base.
The AOS signifies a fundamental shift in the way Army does contracting. By aligning with the new Program Acquisition Executive (PAE) structure – which aims to streamline procurement and requirements processes to accelerate the delivery of mission critical capabilities to Warfighters – the AOS empowers faster, more agile acquisition decisions, ensuring that bold ideas move from concept to capability at the speed of relevance.
“AOS removes barriers on ingenuity that may hinder our industry partners,” said Mr. Joseph Welch, Executive Director for U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command (T2COM) and PAE for Command and Control and Counter C2. “Our goal is to better match commercial-driven solution availability and avoid restricting technology innovation only to pre-determined windows of time. Let’s act on great ideas as they come and not let an overprescribed timeline or process dictate what we procure for our Soldiers.”
Moving away from time-constrained solicitations, the AOS represents a departure from traditional and reactive contracting models by establishing an “always open” framework that enables the Army to rapidly respond to industry proposals on emerging requirements.
“The AOS is designed to streamline the contracting process, allowing us to deliver capability into the hands of our Soldiers faster,” said Ms. Danielle Moyer, Executive Director, Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground.
This proactive approach serves as continuous encouragement for industry to bring forth innovative solutions and create opportunities to align and invest in strategic partnerships with the Army.
“As the first user of the Army Open Solicitation, we've had lots of success and continue to learn and improve based on industry feedback," said Brig. Gen. RJ Mikesh Jr., program executive officer at U.S. Army PEO Enterprise. "We’ll be active users of AOS in FY26; it's likely to be the default solicitation vehicle for most of our work.”
Since its initial release in May of 2025, the AOS has garnered significant attention across the defense industrial base. By leveraging a variety of acquisition authorities like Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transactions – and offering two distinct pathways for companies to submit their solutions – the Army is maximizing flexibility and encouraging collaborative partnerships amongst traditional, non-traditional, and small businesses alike.
The first pathway – Active Capability Gaps (ACGs) – provides a continuously open submission where companies can offer solution briefs aligned with Army mission areas. It’s also a critical strategic tool for contracting officers, enabling greater speed and precision throughout the acquisition process. The Army Contracting Command- Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), for instance, issued its first ACG award within 16 days from request for proposal to contract award.
“The Active Capability Gaps (ACG) pathway empowers us to match the Army's operational needs with industry best solutions faster than ever before. By streamlining requirements and reducing acquisition timelines, we're not only increasing efficiency but also ensuring our Soldiers get critical capability and enhanced lethality in weeks instead of months or years,” said Mr. Joseph Giunta, Executive Director and Senior Contracting Official (SCO), ACC-RSA. “I am proud of our team for being one of the first to utilize the ACG under the Army Open Solicitation and accelerating the delivery of solutions to our mission partners in record time.”
The second pathway – Calls for Solutions (CFSs) – is for specific, government-issued requests for innovative solutions to already defined challenges. While CFSs resemble traditional RFPs, with tailored requirements and evaluation criteria, and are subject to deadlines, the ACG pathway is designed to attract vendors with unique solutions that fall into one of the Army’s defined mission areas, including those who may not routinely participate in defense contracting.
“The AOS is another contracting tool in our kit that allows us to leverage the innovation of industry and produce at the speed our Army needs,” said Brig. Gen. Shane Taylor, Capability Program Executive for Command, Control, Communications, and Network (CPE C3N). “As we transform acquisition, we’re doing so in sync with our contracting counterparts, ensuring we use the pathways that prioritize delivery and will bring forward the best technologies the commercial sector has to offer."
Leaders from across the Army are leveraging the AOS to find innovative solutions and are noticing an increase in the level of participation and partnership from industry. To date, there have been 53 ACG submissions, resulting in three awards and 12 CFS submissions from mission partners such as CPE C3N, PEO Enterprise, and PEO Soldier, which resulted in two awards.
Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier’s use of the AOS brought in 27 vendors for the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. Using streamlined methods, they quickly reduced the competitive range and executed the first award within one month.
“I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the employment of new contracting tools such as Army Open Solicitation (AOS),” said COL Toby Birdsell, project manager for Soldier Warrior (SWAR) under Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier. “They have ensured competition while also accelerating the evaluation and selection of critical technologies.”
The partnership the AOS has created between government and industry provides vendors with a consistent channel for presenting innovative concepts and participating in the shaping of future requirements, while giving the Army access to these emerging technologies that will strengthen the defense industrial base.
“The AOS represents a paradigm shift in Army contracting, prioritizing speed, flexibility, and collaborative partnerships with industry,” Moyer said. “The process is always evolving, but we’re excited to continue partnering with industry to deliver cutting-edge solutions to the Warfighter.”
The AOS marks a significant advancement in how the Army collaborates with industry, prioritizing speed, innovation, and broad access.
Army Open Solicitation (AOS): https://sam.gov/opp/860e295fdae04aab9d83810aa4a01531/view
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