The U.S. Army is conducting market research to inform a consolidation strategy for its digital-engineering tools, services, and licenses, according to a recent request for information [1].
The market research, issued by Army Systems Engineering & Architecture, seeks industry feedback on how to address a fragmented digital-engineering environment. The official notice states that model-based systems engineering and architecture data are currently locked in individual tools and disparate systems without a common repository [1].
The effort focuses on the Engineering & Manufacturing Development and Technology Maturation & Risk Reduction phases of the acquisition lifecycle. It covers requirements, architecture, modeling, simulation and analysis, virtual and physical prototyping, and testing [1]. The notice explicitly excludes additive manufacturing, logistics, supply, and sustainment operations from its scope [1].
The RFI states the Army has been directed to consolidate tools but must do so without disrupting ongoing program-management execution or creating vendor lock-in [1]. The notice is structured around defined problem statements, inviting respondents to describe how those problems are typically addressed using existing commercial systems [1] [2].
The Army has scheduled an Industry Day for Aug. 20, 2026, in conjunction with the RFI [1]. The service’s Assistant Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management (Data, Engineering and Software) describes the Digital Engineering Ecosystem as a unified, data-driven environment intended to integrate engineering data across programs [3].
The notice was issued solely for market research and planning purposes under Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 10. The Army stated that no contract will result directly from the RFI and that responses are voluntary [1].
References
[1] SAM.gov, “RFI: Army Digital Engineering (DE) Ecosystem,” Notice ID 94d3def2a7534079837fa2e2763108f3
[2] OrangeSlices, “Army Launches Digital Engineering Ecosystem RFI with Industry Day to Shape Future Acquisition,” July 20, 2026
[3] U.S. Army, “ADASM(DES) Assistant Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management (Data, Engineering and Software)”
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