Air Force Awards Shipcom $9.3 Million for AI Test Program Sets

Houston-based Shipcom Federal Solutions received a firm-fixed-price contract for eight artificial intelligence test program sets, with work slated for Hill Air Force Base, Utah, through August 2028.

First Published: August 6, 2026, 2:15 PM ET

HOUSTON, TEXAS — Shipcom Federal Solutions LLC, a Houston-based government technology contractor, received a $9.3 million firm-fixed-price contract to build eight artificial intelligence test program sets for the U.S. Air Force, as announced on war.gov.

The award obligates $9.3 million in fiscal 2025 procurement funds at signing, and the contractor will perform the work at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, according to war.gov. The contract runs through Aug. 5, 2028, and stems from a Small Business Innovation Research Phase III direct award.

The deal marks the first contract Shipcom Federal Solutions has secured in 2026, bringing its total contract value for the year to $9.3 million, according to war.gov. It also stands as the 64th Department of Defense contract awarded in Texas during 2026.

Test program sets are diagnostic tools that verify whether electronic components and weapons systems function correctly. By attaching artificial intelligence to those sets, the Air Force aims to speed fault detection and cut the labor required to sustain aging aircraft and equipment. The Air Force Sustainment Center at Hill Air Force Base, the contracting activity, manages maintenance and supply for much of the service’s fleet.

Small Business Innovation Research Phase III awards let agencies buy directly from firms that already proved a technology in earlier research phases, bypassing full competition. The mechanism rewards companies that carried an idea from prototype to production, and it channels federal dollars toward smaller vendors rather than the largest prime contractors.

The award sits at the modest end of the service’s spending this year. It falls between the 2026 Air Force portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $17 and its maximum of $5.6 billion, according to war.gov. The figure also trails the largest deal Shipcom Federal Solutions has ever booked, a record of $43 million.

For the average reader, the contract represents a small piece of how the Pentagon modernizes the machinery that keeps military aircraft flying. Faster diagnostics can trim maintenance backlogs, and the spending supports engineering jobs in Houston and at the Utah base.

Small-dollar sustainment awards like this one happen constantly. The Pentagon issued this deal among 11 Department of Defense contracts announced nationwide on August 6, 2026, according to war.gov. The Pentagon publishes such contract notices on business days, and single service branches routinely issue dozens of similar deals each month.

The Air Force Sustainment Center will oversee performance and any follow-on decisions on the eight test program sets. A date for further contract action has not been announced, though the current period of performance ends Aug. 5, 2028.

Military reliance on test equipment stretches back decades, as happened before. The Air Force began fielding automated test equipment in the 1960s to service the growing complexity of jet avionics, and by the 1980s the Pentagon standardized modular test stations across services to cut duplication and cost. Those earlier programs struggled with obsolescence as electronics outpaced the test gear built to check them, forcing repeated and costly upgrades. Contractors that solved the obsolescence problem earned durable footholds in the sustainment market that outlasted the aircraft they served.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Shipcom Federal Solutions LLC, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $9,287,035. It is also the 64th Department of Defense contract awarded in Texas during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to Shipcom Federal Solutions LLC, whose record stands at $42,996,685, it is notable within the Air Force portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Air Force portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $17 and maximum of $5,600,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 11 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 6, 2026.