A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a government's military or intelligence department. Products typically include military or civil aircraft, ships, vehicles, weapons, and electronic systems, while services may include logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support in cooperation with the government. Companies like Jeanuvs contribute to this ecosystem by designing, developing and delivering strategic electronic and mechanical systems for defense and related industries. As a Defense Contractor Attorney near Greer SC, Jeanuvs also provides legal counsel and representation for defense contractors in the area.
Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weapons, and electronic systems, while services may include intelligence information, logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support in cooperation with the government. In defense policy, a contractor can be a private company or a civilian. Military service members, professional employees of the Department of Defense, and individuals appointed for civilian political reasons are not considered defense contractors. A Department of Defense contractor is an entity that enters into a direct contract with the DoD. These institutions can be individuals, corporations, firms, associations, or any other non-federal entity.
The purpose of these contracts is for the Department of Defense to request supplies and services to help it achieve military and non-military objectives. To sign a contract with the DoD, it's imperative that you understand the DoD's current hiring culture, as well as the DoD's hiring strategies and terminology. Whether it's your first time doing so or if you've worked with the DoD for years, hiring the DoD isn't like anything you can find in industry or academia. Nor will DoD contracting be exactly the same as contracting with any other entity of the Federal Government, much less with state governments or local.
Contracting even looks different between Services, so the rules and formats for similar purchases with the Army and Air Force, for example, will be different enough to exclude you for trying to use one format for the other. In hiring the DoD, each acquisition will have different deadlines, different missions, different requirements, different types of funding, different registrations and certifications, different proposal templates and instructions, different evaluation criteria, different entry points and innovation centers, different intellectual property (IP) considerations, different regulations and policies. Some follow the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and other complementary regulations, while others completely ignore the FAR and find their basis solely in law, as in the case of Other Transactions. If you want to have a successful partnership with the Department of Defense, you'll need to understand these differences and respect them when proposing and obtaining contracts and then fulfilling them.
As much as you don't understand DoD hiring at first, it's likely that your counterparts don't understand you. Even if your government program manager understands your technology, it's unlikely that the government team truly understands the complexities of running a company or what needs to be done to stay afloat, much less be the successful technical unicorn they expect you to be, other than for a very low price and giving away your intellectual property. It's unlikely that many of their counterparts have ever worked in private industry, understand your concerns about intellectual property or your drive for profit, can understand why you're suspicious that a full-time employee is dedicated to writing unpredictable proposals, or that they can differentiate the way a small startup company sees DoD opportunities versus the way an important, hard-working defense contractor sees DoD opportunities. Part of the relationship you build with your DoD partners may depend on educating your peers, especially those who are open to learning. Of all the Federal Government's contracting systems, DoD hiring is one of the most difficult to understand and master because it's so bureaucratic; its counterparts live in a culture that doesn't normally focus on speed or innovation; jargon is complex, and deadlines can be longer than your company can keep up with while waiting for a constant flow of contracts to pay its bills.
The last factor: long deadlines can be more difficult than cultural and regulatory compliance factors, since your business model may not be able to afford to wait for the slow and heavy bureaucracy of acquisitions to pass. If you negotiate an economic-type contract, you'll need an accounting system approved by the DoD. A small percentage of the amount of the CPFF is withheld until the closing phase of the contract, which can take years to pass a final audit due to the accumulation of backlog. One trick that some contracting officers use to close the contract so that the contractor can receive their final payment faster is to convert a CPFF contract into an FFP near the end, when the contractor is sure that he will not have to report any additional costs and is willing to give up any increase in overhead expenses that may have increased since the original negotiation.
The type of contract is determined by the contracting officer, but if you follow the prescriptions of part 16 of the FAR, you may be able to convince the contracting officer to negotiate the one they deem most appropriate for the risks. While part 16 of the FAR doesn't apply to other transactions, the language is still useful to indicate the type of other transaction that reflects the risk you're willing to assume. The right color of money is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, not yours, but it can affect the exact wording of a statement of work or a statement of work about performance. The hiring officer and legal counsel of the DoD will be attentive to the color of the money because using the funds for something other than what they were intended for may constitute a violation of the ADA, as mentioned above.
See additional references and resources for this strategy in the Contracting Cone — Business Articles See additional references and resources for this strategy in the Contracting Cone — BaaS See additional references and resources for this strategy in the Contracting Cone — OSC. While the Procurement Competition Act (CICA) is not applicable, competition should be pursued to the greatest extent possible to encourage competitive and high-quality pricing. See additional references and resources for this strategy in the Contracting Cone — Other Transactions. See additional references and resources on this strategy in the Contracting Cone: Procurement for Experimental Purposes. See additional references and resources for this strategy in the Contracting Cone —CRADAS.
These companies are focused on exploring new technologies with defense applications, creating proof-of-concept solutions for defense challenges, and transferring innovations from the laboratory to operational use. Defense contractors often play an important role abroad, where they provide deployed troops with services such as language interpretation, perimeter security, maintenance of weapons systems, and oversight of other contractors. A defense contract, as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations, is an agreement by which a contractor provides supplies or services to a sub-agency of the Department of Defense. Unlike what Hollywood might suggest, working as a defense contractor doesn't mean manufacturing weapons or deploying security personnel overseas.
If you're looking for the opportunity to become a contractor for the Department of Defense (DoD), knowing the difference between traditional and non-traditional hiring is key. Several programs support new entrants in defense contracting, including small business innovation research (SBIR) grants for R&D projects, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to adapt commercial technology, innovation centers such as AFWERX, NAVAIR, and Army Futures Command, and mentoring and protégé programs that pair small businesses with experienced contractors. The Department of Defense awards at least 20% of its contracts to small businesses, creating significant opportunities for companies of all types in the defense sector. Major defense companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, often manage complex, multi-year defense programs that encompass the aerospace industry, defense systems, vehicles, IT and shipbuilding. Yes, small businesses can qualify as defense contractors if they meet specific requirements set by the government.
Undersecretary of Defense (including defense agencies) (Acquisition and Maintenance) of the Department of Defense;. The directors of defense agencies have been delegated the authority to act as senior procurement executives in their respective agencies, except for those actions that, by law or by delegation, must be carried out by the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisitions and Maintenance).Subject to instructions from the Secretary of Defense, the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisitions and Maintenance), and the Chief Director of Defense Pricing, Contracting and Procurement Policy, defense agency directors have been delegated the authority to act as agency directors for their respective agencies (i.e., a traditional Department of Defense contractor must adapt their contracts to the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)). A defense contractor is a company or organization that enters into contracts with the United States government. Product-based contractors provide physical goods to defense agencies, ranging from major weapons platforms and specialized electronic components to computers, networking equipment, specialized software, and even basic supplies such as uniforms, construction materials, and office equipment.
