DLA ASC Supplier Operations has issued a solicitation which will result in a 5 year contract for electrical “butt” connectors. These connectors, NSN 5940-00-271-7741 are used to splice two wires together. DLA estimates it purchases 3,602 packages (100 ea) totaling 18,010 packages over five years. These connectors comply with MIL-S-81824.
The last company to sell these to the military was Electro Products Sales Corp (cage 9A632) for $45.25 in quantity of 230 packages. Other suppliers include Management Solutions and Tyco electronics.
Based on an analysis of procurement history pricing we estimate this contract’s value at $814,952 over the contract term.
All offers due by April 19, 2026.
To learn more, log into BidLink and put SPE4A7-26-R-0453 into Search for Anything at the top.
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We periodically check for solicitations that have no buy history as this is a strategy employed by our clients. The list can expose new NSNs that might not be in your NSN watch list, or items the government needs but cannot find sources. In either case it’s worth looking at.
The time we’ve excluded everything that is not AMC 1G (technical data available). This excludes source approval requirements, obsolete parts, QPL, and other limiting categories. These should all be items that can be sourced, or manufactured from available tech data.
I’ll list the first 40 here and include a CSV where you can download all 260 items.
We’re always looking for new ways to find opportunities in government data. Today’s report looks at buying trends. We analyzed all procurement history looking for significant increases in quantity purchases over time. DOD has allocated significant funds to re-stocking munitions, building new ships / planes, and maintenance operations. We want to know where the priorities lie and where money is moving.
We’ve filtered out some data to reduce the noise and deal with erroneous data (like quantity 99999) and generated a list of items with the greatest NSN Velocity. Procurement history broken into two groups (2021-2022, and 2024-2025). Anything with a quantity increase of over 150% between the two periods was looked at. We excluded anything with less that $300,000 in spending from 2024-2025.
item_name
Quantity 2021-2022
Quantity 2024-2025
Total spend 2024-2025
INSTALLATION KIT, VEHICLE
54
376
$38,129,649
FOAM LIQUID,FIRE EX
66
252
$34,509,037
HELMET,ADVANCED COM
538
3580
$34,295,576
TARPAULIN
1387
11483
$34,091,280
HELMET,ADVANCED COM
568
2998
$29,998,622
CLOTH,GABARDINE
7917
39583
$29,374,000
BAG,PROTECTIVE,SLEE
2542
14388
$26,463,933
TROUSERS,CHEMICAL P
146
4393
$26,185,073
FIELD PACK
782
8355
$20,634,577
DECONTAMINATION KIT
1410
3670
$18,815,134
EXTINGUISHER,FIRE
320
904
$18,335,214
BEARING,PLAIN,ROD E
99
446
$16,018,772
HEATER MODULE,HEATE
12003
32008
$14,803,498
GASOLINE,AUTOMOTIVE
4015
10351
$14,705,595
LINER,MULTI PURPOSE
2719
10642
$13,932,070
COAT,CHEMICAL PROTE
500
2063
$13,287,844
NUT,SELF-LOCKING,EX
3055
13537
$13,177,273
COAT,HOT WEATHER
3915
11059
$12,295,601
FITTING,STRUCTURAL
271
1039
$11,279,978
ACCELEROMETER,ELECT
102
335
$10,849,950
FILTER ELEMENT,INTA
170
460
$10,550,426
SHIRT,COMBAT
1460
5591
$10,522,415
CABLE ASSEMBLY,SPEC
124
414
$10,497,407
HELMET,ADVANCED COM
93
1066
$10,449,201
BEARING,PLAIN,SELF-
266
1155
$10,270,536
CAPSULE ASSEMBLY,FL
60
210
$10,139,449
ION EXCHANGE COMPOU
3257
10205
$10,039,752
TROUSERS,CHEMICAL P
146
1445
$9,705,642
SCREW,CAP,HEXAGON H
1616
12694
$9,647,112
This is the top of the list. You can download the entire list with NIINs in this csv:
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for supply of servo valve parts kits (1650-00-510-9088) used on the C-130 aircraft. This kit consists of 30 items and technical data is available. As for quantity the government wants two quotes: One for annual demand quantity of 160 units (800 total over contract term), and 240 units (1,200 total).
The last company to supply these to the military was G.S.E. Dynamics which sold them for $178 in quantity of 49. The price has risen from $84 in 2023 in similar quantities. Other suppliers include Aviarms Support Corp, CU Enterprises, Infinity Fabrication, and Sey Tec.
Based on procurement history pricing using the alternate max ADQ of 240 is $213,000. The contract has a max contract value of $350,000. Suppliers have 275 days after each delivery order to supply the goods.
All offers due by March 13, 2026.
To learn more, log into BidLink and put SPE4A7-26-R-X514 into Search for Anything at the top.
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
One strategy people use to find solicitations of interest is to look for ones with no procurement history. We have seen people work this technique in various sectors where they’re looking for open bids with no record of the government ever purchasing the item.
Often times this is a new NSN which can be determined by looking at the Effective Date in the ML/C section. DOD is constantly adding new items which might not be in your NSN bid search lists. Reviewing the attached list might uncover opportunities you may have otherwise missed.
We’ll include a partial list below. Since the full list is around 900 items we’ll attach a CSV at the bottom which you can use to import into your favorite software for analysis.
I often watch the procurement history run as it’s loaded into BidLink just to make sure everything is working properly. There was a larger than usual number contracts over the first two weeks of February with 636,454 line items purchased. As the data was whizzing by I can see the usual companies repeating with food being dominant.
I thought it might be interesting to look at who the big players are this month. The data encompasses the first two weeks of Feburary 2026. What I found surprising was a large amount of footwear and body armor. National Industries of the Blind is a major supplier of batteries.
Total Sales
Company
$28,181,745
SUMMIT SHOJI INC.
$19,464,300
ORIGINAL FOOTWEAR COMPANY
$19,218,769
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS
$15,300,000
AMSTED GRAPHITE MATERIALS
$10,743,076
JAMAICA BEARINGS CO. INC.
$10,151,100
POINT BLANK PROTECTIVE APPAREL
$9,771,940
J&T RECYCLING CORPORATION
$9,600,000
INTREPID EAGLE LOGISTICS
$9,468,006
HWI GEAR
$9,065,827
ROCKY BRANDS
$9,041,466
NATIONAL INDUSTRIES FOR THE BLIND
$8,897,239
CAPPS SHOE COMPANY
$8,645,085
TETRA TECH
$8,348,346
SAN ANTONIO SHOE
$7,892,352
READYONE INDUSTRIES
$7,892,352
GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SOUTH
$7,376,021
AMERIQUAL GROUP
$6,821,716
KGL FOOD SERVICES WLL
$6,553,323
VALIANT INTEGRATED SERVICES
$6,463,848
BELLEVILLE SHOE MANUFACTURING
$5,620,439
COCA-COLA BOTTLERS JAPAN
$5,461,932
PROPPER INTERNATIONAL
$4,481,933
SAN ANTONIO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND
$4,415,893
OKINAWA COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO
$4,372,826
NOBLE SUPPLY & LOGISTICS
$4,197,600
MCRAE INDUSTRIES
$4,086,257
SEASHORE FRUIT & PRODUCE
$3,967,764
OCEAN FAIR INTERNATIONAL SHIP
$3,834,089
FECHHEIMER BROTHERS
$3,688,648
COGGINS INTERNATIONAL
$3,637,583
VALLEY APPAREL
$3,160,800
D-J ENGINEERING
$2,940,586
EBREX FOOD SERVICES SARL
$2,852,432
D&G SUPPORT SERVICES
$2,772,347
ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES
$2,754,877
GIL SEWING CORP.
$2,698,677
CREATION GARDENS
$2,681,087
US FOODS
$2,577,820
COASTAL PACIFIC FOOD
$2,539,143
PECKHAM VOCATIONAL INDUSTRIES
$2,487,639
VAL-PRO
$2,429,840
HYDRO-AIRE
$2,395,754
HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND
$2,239,466
BROTHERS PRODUCE OF DALLAS
$2,233,346
TRIPLE “B” CORPORATION
$2,224,790
ATLANTIC DIVING SUPPLY
$2,187,550
ECI DEFENSE GROUP, INC.
$2,135,187
FORESTWOOD FARM
$1,986,651
THEODOR WILLE INTERTRADE GMBH
$1,867,026
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
Part of an ongoing series of articles discussing techniques defense contractors can use to grow their business. While looking at a solicitation for navigational lights on the UH-60 helicopter we found a significant increase in pricing over a short period. The price increase was after the BLS inflation rate was decreasing. Many times when you find price hikes such as this, more opportunities can be found by researching a specific company or part.
GMS International is a broker, the OEM is Luminescent Systems Incorporated; a subsidiary of Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO). This NSN references that Sikorsky drawings are available from DLA. Grimes CAGE 72914, now Honeywell Aerospace was a previous manufacturer of this item.
BidLink Procurement History
When a company is selling an item for what is likely a large profit margin it makes us wonder what other items they are selling. This Navigation light (AKA Position Light) is used on a number of Sikorsky Helicopter variants. Searching the part number and refining by the OEM CAGE we get a list of similar items.
We can see four different items, all used on the Sikorsky helicopter. Here we notice two items appear to be competitively priced, while two have significant price increases. So in addition to the top one which has a current solicitation, the second item is also regularly purchased and has seen a rapid rise in price.
6220-01-253-0380
Part: 7847-4
GMS international
Price
Quantity
Award Date
$990
70
7/2017
$1,131
80
5/2020
$2,049
67
6/2024
6220-01-190-3149
Part: 7847-3
GMS international
Price
Quantity
Award Date
$727
10
1/2018
$1,475
10
10/2023
$3,165
7
1/2026
6220-01-096-1049
Part: 7847-1
Aeropanel Corp
Price
Quantity
Award Date
$617
122
5/2015
$417
248
10/2020
$389
211
8/2024
6220-01-123-0209
Part: 7847-5
GMS international
Price
Quantity
Award Date
$652
45
3/2017
$720
20
4/2020
$792
26
3/2025
Using the tactic of stripping off the end of the part number is an easy way to investigate similar items to look for opportunities you might be missing.
If you are a company that manufactures navigational lighting you might be interested in bidding the current solicitation for 6220-01-253-0380. The total quantity is 120 units. Based on recent pricing the contract is worth $245,880.
To learn more, log into BidLink and put SPE8E7-26-T-1249 into Search for Anything at the top.
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
The Defense Logistics Agency has issued a solicitation for long-term supply of relief valves. These valves are used on the F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft. The resulting contract will have one base year and four option years for a total of five. Each contract line item (CLIN) will be evaluated on an “All or None” basis per NSN, with each line being awarded to the best value offeror for that NSN.
NSN
Recent price @ qty (inflation)
Total value
4820-00-494-0755
$434.74 @ 33 ($449 adj)
$114,495
4820-00-868-6584
$720.94 @ 29 ($746 adj)
$48,490
4820-00-980-7721
$366.99 @ 133
$1,570,760
Total contract Value $1,733,745
The most recent awardee for these is Essex Industries. Other suppliers included Lee Air and Delta Technologies. These are critical safety items which require government approval of the supplier. As a result, a long time frame has been added to this contract giving new suppliers an opportunity to obtain approval.
All offers due by February 27, 2026.
To learn more, log into BidLink and put SPE7MX-26-R-X004 into Search for Anything at the top.
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
DLA Troop Support has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for supply of Crew Restraint Tether Assembies.
NSN
Name
Price
Quantity
Total
8465-01-674-8474
Webbing
$789.00
12500
$9,862,500
8465-01-674-8481
Webbing
$600.00
5000
$3,000,000
8465-01-675-2517
Webbing
$789.00
625
$493,125
8465-01-675-2523
Webbing
$600.00
250
$150,000
8465-01-674-8485
Loop cover
$23.00
250
$5,750
8465-01-674-8487
Snap link
$23.00
1250
$28,750
8465-01-674-8561
Handle cover
$23.00
4500
$103,500
Total
$13,643,625
Even though these NSNs were assigned in 2018 there is no procurement history for any of them. The prices above are based on the DOD mlc price. The one company listed in the MCRD is Survival Innovations.
Technical data is available on these items and a long lead time of 260 days to deliver from date of order. There is also over a month to respond to the RFP.
All offers due by January 19, 2026.
To learn more, log into BidLink and put SPE1C1-26-R-0006 into Search for Anything at the top.
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
For 2026 the micro-purchase threshold was raised from $10,000 to $15,000 to keep up with inflation. For people new to defense contracting micro-purchases side-step many of the FAR regulations.
– The Government-wide commercial purchase card shall be the preferred method to purchase and to pay for micro-purchases
– Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive quotations if the contracting officer or individual considers the price to be reasonable.
– The administrative cost of verifying the reasonableness of the price for purchases may more than offset potential savings from detecting instances of overpricing.
– Micro-purchases do not require provisions or clauses, except as provided at 13.202 and 32.1110.
– End user agreements for licenses, software, and subscription services might not be enforceable.
With an increased focus on Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) items at DOD, it is likely we will see more transactions that are below the micro-purchase threshold. If your products can be purchased via credit card this is where building relationships with potential end users will bear more fruit than scraping through DIBBS.
Another threshold that is worth mentioning is justifications for other than full and open competition (FAR 6.304). Now any transaction under $900,000 can be certified sole-source by the contracting officer without requiring higher approval or a formal J&A.
Tired of DIBBS / SAM and bid services that don’t understand defense contracting? Try BidLink for free at www.bidlink.net.
