Protests force the Army into a second redo of $237M soldier gear contract
Gettyimages.com/Virojt Changyencham
By
Nick Wakeman
Amentum has won the Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment contract twice, only to face fresh challenges each time.
For a second time, the Army will re-evaluate proposals for a $237 million contract to improve the protective equipment worn by soldiers.
Amentum has twice won the Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment contract. MAG Aerospace and DCS Corp. have filed protests after each attempt at an award.
The first Amentum win was in the summer of 2025. MAG and incumbent DCS filed protests arguing that the Army misevaluated proposals and made an incorrect best-value tradeoff decision.
The Army pulled that award in September, saying it would re-evaluate and make a new decision.
When Amentum won again, Mag Aerospace and DCS filed new protests in late January with virtually the same challenges.
After reviewing the Army’s response to those protests, DCS filed a supplemental protest that prompted the Army to take another corrective action.
The Army will conduct discussions with the three companies and accept final proposal revisions. The Army will then, once again, re-evaluate proposals and make a new best-value tradeoff analysis.
The work is being competed under the RS3 vehicle. The winner will provide engineering, quality assurance and test support, acquisition support, business management support, logistics and fielding support, operations support and administrative support.
Equipment includes boots, combat uniforms, and the Ghillie suit accessory kit — camouflage snipers wear that can include netting, straps, face paint and hardware for customizing to different environments.