By Kevin Plexico, Deltek senior vice president of information solutions, a seven-time Wash100 awardee and a GovCon Expert
It’s the start of a new federal fiscal year, which means it’s the start of a new wave of government spending. That’s why at Deltek, our team of more than 150 GovWin IQ analysts has released its list of Top Federal Opportunities for FY 2027, the latest edition of our annual series of reports and webinars on the federal contracts most likely to shape the coming fiscal year. The series covers the largest opportunities agencies are expected to offer over the next twelve months, in both the unrestricted and set-aside markets.
In this article, I’ll provide an overview of these top opportunities, explain what’s different this year and offer a few actionable takeaways for contractors.
As federal buying consolidates around fewer contract vehicles and billions in FY27 opportunities take shape, the Potomac Officers Club’s 2027 GovCon Executive Leadership Summit on Feb. 25 will bring industry leaders together to discuss capture strategy and winning in a more competitive market. Save your seat now!
So, What Are the Top Federal Opportunities?
Every opportunity on the list comes from GovWin IQ, our opportunity intelligence platform and was vetted by our federal market research analysts. Each has an estimated solicitation date in FY 2027, and we selected them based on total expected contract value or anticipated ceiling value.
Why do we do this every year? Because contractors need to know where to focus before the year gets away from them. The reports and webinars go deep on what the federal government is actually forecasting for FY 2027, beyond the easy-to-find data points. If you’re not looking at this research, your competitors probably are.
Contractors and industry leaders who attend the webinars or download the reports will get:
- Contract spending trends in key GovCon markets
- A recap of FY 2026 and the outlook for FY 2027 in federal contracting
- A look at the major bellwether contract opportunities
What’s Unique About Federal Opportunities for FY 2027?
One of the biggest trends that holds true across our research is how aggressively the Administration is consolidating federal purchasing.
Spending is being focused on a shrinking set of government-wide contract vehicles, with the administration canceling or pausing billions in planned procurement, while government agencies are reassessing their spending priorities due to a recent raft of wide-scale executive orders.
There are more changes impacting small businesses. A proposed rule from the U.S. Small Business Administration could dramatically change federal size standards, which has potential to reclassify thousands of businesses and increase eligibility thresholds. At the same time, the SBA has reopened its 8(a) equity program, but early entrants have come from a narrow portion of eligible businesses – raising questions about the entire program’s future.
Samples of the Top Unrestricted & Set-Aside Opportunities
Within this changing market there remains a huge amount of contract value. All together, our research found the top 20 unrestricted opportunities totaled $306B, along with $121.4B for the top 10 set-aside opportunities.
Here is a sampling of some of those for unrestricted and set-aside, respectively:
Top Unrestricted Opportunities
Army Logistics Civil Augmentation Program VI, or LOGCAP VI: This is the largest opportunity on the list, covering core logistics work from deployment and distribution to supply, maintenance, engineering and health services. The Army is also planning a separate Small Business Suite solicitation, which will absorb EAGLE and various Army Prepositioned Stocks work to speed up mobilization.
- Estimated contract value: $82 billion
DTIC Information Analysis Centers Multiple Award Contract, or IAC MAC: This R&D vehicle supports hundreds of DoD vehicles and its ceiling jumped from $28 billion to $48 billion ahead of the recompete. It keeps three Technical Focus Area Pools, one of them reserved for small businesses.
- Estimated contract value: $48 billion
Management and Operation of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory FFRDC: JPL is behind missions like the Mars Perseverance Rover and Europa Clipper, and the contract has historically been sole-sourced to Caltech. This time it’s open to bids, which creates teaming and subcontracting opportunities in aerospace and technology.
- Estimated contract value: $30 billion
Top Set-Aside Opportunities
Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program 6, or SOE TLS: This is the largest small business opportunity on the list. The Defense Logistics Agency program already supports roughly $3 billion in annual sales, has seen more than 50,000 task orders since award and requires round-the-clock contractor support.
- Estimated contract value: $60 billion
Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services IV, or STARS IV: This GSA 8(a) IT services vehicle succeeds STARS III, and the timing matters. The 8(a) program only resumed approving new applicants in August 2026, after a year-long pause.
- Estimated contract value: $50 billion
Census Bureau Transformation Application Modernization, or CenTAM: This is a brand-new requirement with no incumbent, built around four Blanket Purchase Agreements covering the Census Bureau’s business, IT, demographic and decennial programs. If you want in, start thinking about your teaming strategy now.
- Estimated contract value: $2.6 billion
Top-Line Takeaways for FY 2027
The market for contractors is changing rapidly, and it’s more important than ever that they know exactly where to focus for the year ahead. I’ll leave you with these three insights that can help contractors capitalize at the start of this fiscal year.
- Start with the contracts you can realistically pursue. A list of billion-dollar opportunities is only useful if you match it against your own capabilities, past performance and size status.
- Decide on your teaming plan now. Primes for many of these opportunities are building their teams early, and if you want a seat at the table, the time to reach out is before the solicitation drops.
- Stay informed. Changes to the opportunities on this list are likely, and the market itself may change due to further executive orders, election results and economic conditions. The best thing your team can do is ensure it has a reliable, trusted source of government opportunity intelligence.
