How to Capture the HITS-U III HPC Modernization Contract Now

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is preparing to compete High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) Integrated Technical Services – Unrestricted III (HITS-U III), a $785M Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to operate and modernize four of the five Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers (DSRCs). This is a rare, high-value opportunity in the GovCon space, covering everything from supercomputer operations and cybersecurity to AI/ML integration and HPC user support. If your firm has relevant capabilities, the time to act is now. USACE is scheduling the industry day for June 24 and 25, 2026.

HITS-U III at a Glance

• Agency: Dept. of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Army Engineering and Support Center Huntsville (CEHNC)
• NAICS Code: 541513 – Computer Facilities Management Services
• GovWin Opp ID: 252683
• Solicitation Number: PANERD-25-0000001596
• Contract Type: IDIQ (Cost Plus Fixed Fee or Hybrid CPFF/FFP CLINs)
• Competition Type: Full and Open/Unrestricted
• Estimated Value: $785M
• RFP Release: October 2026
• Period of Performance: Five-year IDIQ ordering period

Why You Should Bid on HITS-U III

HITS-U III is one of the largest single-agency HPC support contracts in the federal market. At $785M over five years, it offers sustained revenue, high barriers to entry, and direct alignment with DOD’s most critical computational infrastructure. The mission of the HPCMP is to give DOD scientists and engineers the resources to solve the most demanding warfighter problems through supercomputing, networking, and computational expertise.

Winning HITS-U III means embedding your firm as a long-term operational partner across four DSRCs: the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) DSRC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) DSRC at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland; the Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and the Navy DSRC at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Each center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. That continuous operational requirement translates directly into stable, long-term contract performance.

The contract is structured as an IDIQ with task orders, allowing the government to direct work across the full scope of work while giving the Prime flexibility in task execution. Firms with classified network experience, CMMC Level 2 certification, and demonstrated HPC operations history are strongly positioned. Those who start building their capture strategy now, before the RFP drops in October 2026, still have time.

Summary of the HITS-U III Performance Work Statement

The Final Draft HITS-U III Performance Work Statement (PWS) (Version 1.1, dated 21 May 2026) organizes work into four primary mission areas. Each area carries distinct technical and security requirements that offerors must demonstrate the capability to perform:

1. Operating the DSRCs: Contractor responsibilities include operations monitoring, facilities and engineering support, system administration, network engineering, database administration, software development, maintenance management, inventory management, configuration and change management, and continuity of operations planning. The DSRCs run continuously, and the contract requires uninterrupted service delivery across all four sites.
2. Delivering HPC capabilities at both unclassified and classified levels, as well as specialized and emerging HPC environments: This includes HPC system installation and integration, application management, infrastructure support, and cybersecurity support across all classification levels. Emerging technology requirements specifically call out AI/ML architectures and quantum computing integration into traditional HPC environments.
3. Assisting HPC users: Key functions include operating an enterprise Help Desk supporting more than 2,500 active users during extended business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET), providing DSRC Help Desk liaisons, delivering higher-level user support, managing HPC applications, and operating advanced visualization application development and support services.
4. Cross-Centers and enterprise support: This includes enterprise cybersecurity, enterprise software development and management, cross-center architecture, procurement support, outreach services, and technology assessment and advancement. The enterprise approach is designed to generate efficiencies and innovations across two or more DSRCs simultaneously.

Key Personnel Requirements

HITS-U III identifies twelve key personnel positions that are essential to successful contract performance. Offerors must propose qualified individuals for each role and submit resumes with their proposals. Key personnel positions include:

• Enterprise Program Manager
• Enterprise Deputy Program Manager
• Site Lead – Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) DSRC
• Site Lead – Army Research Laboratory (ARL) DSRC
• Site Lead – Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) DSRC
• Site Lead – Navy DSRC
• Lead – Cross-Centers
• ISSO Lead – Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) DSRC
• ISSO Lead – Army Research Laboratory (ARL) DSRC
• ISSO Lead – Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) DSRC
• ISSO Lead – Navy DSRC
• ISSO Lead – Cross-Centers

The Enterprise Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, finance, business administration, or a related discipline, with documented senior management experience on programs of comparable scope and complexity. Each ISSO Lead must meet DOD 8570/8140 certification requirements appropriate to their assigned system classification level. Identifying and committing these twelve individuals during capture, rather than during proposal development, is a decisive competitive advantage.

How to Prepare for the HITS-U III Industry Day

USACE has scheduled an Industry Day for June 24 and June 25, 2026. Industry Day registration closes at 5:00 PM EDT on June 10, 2026. This is a two-day event, reflecting the contract’s breadth, and your team should plan attendance accordingly. Missing Industry Day means missing direct access to the government’s priorities before the final RFP is drafted.

Prepare thoroughly before attending. Review the Final Draft PWS in detail and document your most important technical and contractual questions. Prioritize questions about the evaluation criteria, past performance requirements, subcontractor past performance credit, and any areas where the draft PWS language is ambiguous. Bring a team that includes your capture lead, program manager candidate, and at least one subject matter expert in cybersecurity or HPC operations.

Use Industry Day to confirm the contract structure assumptions in the RFI. The government indicated it is considering a Single Award Task Order Contract (SATOC) structure using Cost Plus Fixed Fee, or a hybrid with Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) and cost-type Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs_. Understanding which structure is finalized affects how you build your pricing approach and team. Document every government response carefully, because verbal clarifications at Industry Day often signal evaluation priorities that do not appear explicitly in the RFP.

After Industry Day, submit formal questions promptly. Timely questions receive documented answers shared with all competitors, making this a powerful tool for shaping favorable RFP language.

Potential HITS-U III Risks

HITS-U III carries several risks that offerors must assess before committing to bid. Understanding these risks now allows your team to set mitigation strategies into your capture plan rather than your proposal.

• Clearance and CMMC requirements: The contract involves operations at both unclassified and classified levels, including Secret network support under the Secret Defense Research and Engineering Network (SDREN). Offerors must hold or be actively pursuing appropriate facility clearances and CMMC Level 2 certification. Any gap in clearance posture at proposal submission can eliminate a bid from consideration.
• Incumbent advantage: The existing HITS-U contract holder (BAE Systems, Inc.) has deep institutional knowledge of each DSRC’s unique processes, personnel, and operational environment. Challengers must demonstrate an equivalent depth of relevant HPC operations, past performance, and a credible transition-in plan that minimizes operational risk.
• Transition complexity: HITS-U III requires a geographically distributed workforce at four separate DOD installations, each with its own security environment and operational culture. The transition-in period is a defined PWS requirement. Offerors who cannot articulate a low-risk transition plan will face skeptical evaluators.
• Teaming gaps: Few firms hold all the capabilities in all required areas; identifying teaming partners early and confirming that their past performance is credible at the prime or significant subcontractor level is essential.
• Key personnel availability: Twelve key personnel positions must be filled at the time of award. The competition for cleared, credentialed HPC professionals is intense—firms that wait until RFP release to recruit key personnel candidates will face a serious disadvantage against teams that have already secured commitments.

How to Prepare for and Win HITS-U III

Winning HITS-U III requires a disciplined, multi-month capture campaign. The firms that arrive at RFP release with a complete team, qualified key personnel, documented past performance, and a finalized pricing strategy will have a structural advantage over those who begin preparation after the solicitation drops.

• Assess your past performance for NAICS Code 541513: Identify your three to five strongest examples of HPC operations, network administration, and cybersecurity support at classified environments.
• Confirm your clearance and CMMC posture: Verify that your facility clearance and CMMC Level 2 certification are current and held at the correct level.
• Build your team now: Identify teaming partners for the capability areas where your firm has gaps. Confirm that partner past performance will be creditable.
• Commit your 12 key personnel candidates: Recruiting cleared, credentialed HPC and cybersecurity professionals takes time. Secure written letters of intent from your key personnel candidates during capture.
• Attend Industry Day and submit formal questions: Register before June 10 and send your most knowledgeable team members. After the event, use the ProjNet system to submit formal questions.
• Develop your transition-in plan early: Demonstrating a realistic, low-risk approach to assuming operations across four geographically separated DSRCs is a differentiator—begin drafting your transition framework now.

Conclusion

HITS-U III is technically demanding and competitively fierce. The firms that begin capture now, build the right teams, and arrive at solicitation release with qualified key personnel and documented past performance will hold a decisive advantage. Waiting for the RFP to begin preparation is not a strategy; it is a concession to competitors who are already at work. Lohfeld Consulting helps GovCon firms build the infrastructure to compete for high-value bids like HITS-U III, from early capture strategy through final proposal submission—including IDIQ pipeline analysis, past performance assessment, team gap analysis, and proposal reviews. For expert capture and proposal support, contact us to learn how we can help your team win.

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Deepen your capture expertise with these Lohfeld resources:

• How New CMMC Requirements Impact SOFGSD and Other RFPs: HITS-U III requires CMMC compliance across classified and unclassified environments. This article explains how CMMC is showing up as a pass/fail gate on DOD solicitations, what the phased rollout means for contractors and subcontractors, and what your team must do now to avoid disqualification before evaluation even begins.

• How to Master Joint Ventures for IDIQ Bids Now: Few single firms hold all the capabilities HITS-U III demands across HPC operations, classified cybersecurity, and enterprise program management. This article breaks down JV formation rules, the 40% workshare requirement, SAM.gov registration, and how specific IDIQs apply their own eligibility criteria on top of the regulatory baseline — everything your team needs to structure a compliant, competitive arrangement.

• Congratulations, You Won an IDIQ! Now What?: Winning HITS-U III gets you on contract, but it doesn’t guarantee task order revenue. This article details what it actually takes to generate performance after IDIQ award: building the internal organization, managing the vehicle mechanics, keeping past performance current, and winning recompetes before the clock runs out.

By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube^(TM).