MTSI Wins $371.3 Million Air Force Deal for Space Rapid Capabilities Office

Modern Technology Solutions Inc., a 100% employee-owned engineering firm in Alexandria, Virginia, won a sole-source, time-and-materials contract worth $371.3 million to support the Space Rapid Capabilities Office through 2031.

First Published: July 25, 2026, 12:46 PM ET

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — Modern Technology Solutions Inc., the employee-owned engineering firm in Alexandria, Virginia, won a $371.3 million Air Force contract to support the Pentagon’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office.

The time-and-materials award covers system engineering and technical assistance across the entire acquisition lifecycle for the office, the Department of Defense said in a July 24, 2026 announcement. Work will run primarily in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to finish by Aug. 23, 2031. Research, development, test and evaluation funds of $24.3 million were obligated at the time of award.

The contract flowed through a sole-source acquisition under a pilot program that steers work toward wholly employee-owned businesses, authorized by Section 872 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2024. The Space Rapid Capabilities Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity.

Founded in 1993 by two retired Air Force engineers, MTSI is a 100% employee-owned engineering services company that works in missile defense, space, cyber security and unmanned systems, according to hsvchamber.org. The company employs roughly 2,681 U.S.-based workers and holds a workplace certification in which 97% of staff called it a great place to work, according to greatplacetowork.com. It operates from headquarters in Alexandria and maintains an Albuquerque office among more than 20 sites worldwide, according to builtinsf.com.

The award benefits an employee-owned contractor and the buyers who use the pilot program to route strategic work outside the largest prime contractors. The Space Rapid Capabilities Office gains long-term engineering support for programs meant to field space capabilities on compressed timelines. Rivals shut out of a sole-source deal absorb the cost of the arrangement.

Contracts of this scale tie a single firm to years of government revenue. The MTSI figure is the company’s only tracked Department of Defense award value in 2026, and it landed among eight defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026. A single deal near $371 million rivals the annual operating budgets of some mid-sized U.S. cities, underscoring the weight of individual defense contracts on a firm this size.

For the average reader, the deal signals where federal defense dollars flow and how the government uses employee-ownership incentives to shape its supplier base. Taxpayer funds obligated under this award support classified and strategic space work performed in New Mexico.

This has happened before. Congress created the Section 872 pilot to channel sole-source work to wholly employee-owned businesses, and MTSI’s structure qualifies it for such awards. The company has grown steadily since its founding, expanding to offices across the country, according to builtinsf.com.

The Space Rapid Capabilities Office at Kirtland Air Force Base will oversee performance and any modifications. A date for the next contract decision has not been announced, though the current work is scheduled through Aug. 23, 2031.

Employee ownership in the defense industry has deep roots, as happened before. Science Applications International Corp. built one of the largest employee-owned bases in government contracting after its 1969 founding, growing into a multibillion-dollar player before a 2006 public offering shifted its structure. That transition showed how employee-owned defense firms can scale on federal work while facing pressure to change ownership as they grow, a path MTSI has so far declined to follow.

The total value of contracts awarded to Modern Technology Solutions Inc.(MTSI) in 2026 reached $371,332,385. Overall, this award was announced among 8 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026.