AI at the Core: Empower AI’s $255M Deal to Remake Pentagon IT

RESTON, VA – June 16, 2026

In a move that solidifies the growing role of artificial intelligence at the heart of U.S. defense operations, Empower AI has secured a $255.4 million contract to continue its management of the Pentagon's sprawling enterprise IT services. The award, a recompete from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), is more than a simple renewal; it represents a strategic mandate to accelerate the integration of AI-enabled automation into one of the most complex digital environments in the world.

For the next five years, the Reston-based technology partner will support the DISA J6 Service Delivery mission, which provides the digital backbone for the Pentagon and the National Capital Region (NCR). While the contract ensures the continued stability of critical IT systems, its core focus is on a deeper transformation: using intelligent automation to enhance efficiency, speed up problem resolution, and ultimately lower the operational cost of the nation's military nerve center.

A Mandate for Modernization, Not Just Maintenance

To grasp the significance of this contract, one must understand the scale of the entity it serves. DISA J6, the Command, Control, Communications & Computers (C4) Enterprise Directorate, is responsible for the foundational IT infrastructure that supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense and numerous other agencies. Its mission includes deploying and managing DoDNet, a commodity IT network expected to serve over 300,000 users.

This is not a standard corporate IT helpdesk. It is a high-stakes environment where system reliability and security are paramount to national security. In a recent public discussion, DISA J6 Director Sharon Woods outlined the directorate's strategic priorities, emphasizing the delivery of "world-class services" and a commitment to "continuous modernization." This contract is a direct implementation of that vision.

Empower AI's task is not merely to maintain the status quo but to actively evolve it. The contract's structure, with a one-year base period and four one-year options, incentivizes continuous improvement. The goal is to introduce advanced automation and industry best practices without disrupting the thousands of daily mission-critical operations that depend on the network's stability.

The AI-Enabled Arsenal

At the center of Empower AI's strategy is the targeted application of artificial intelligence. This is not a theoretical promise but a practical plan to deploy proven technologies. The company has a history of developing solutions built on natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and hyper-automation to streamline complex government processes.

"We will apply AI-enabled automation where it measurably improves outcomes for DISA J6 mission partners, while maintaining the reliability and security that DISA J6 Service Delivery operations require,” said Jeffrey Bohling, President and CEO of Empower AI, in the company's announcement.

This translates to tangible changes. Instead of technicians manually diagnosing every issue, AI-driven systems can proactively identify anomalies, analyze patterns in network traffic to predict potential failures, and automate routine resolutions. This frees up human experts to focus on more complex, novel challenges. For the end-user—be it a four-star general or a civilian analyst—this means faster solutions to IT problems and less downtime.

Carla Harter, the company's Senior Vice President of Operations, emphasized the value of their existing presence. "Our teams have developed deep institutional knowledge of the DISA J6 environment, and we understand that consistent performance is just the baseline," she stated. "We will use that foundation to introduce intelligent automation in areas where it reduces burden and improves response times, giving DISA J6 measurable performance gains within the current operational framework."

This approach is validated by the company's broader work. Its "Intelligent Document Assistant," for example, recently earned an "awardable" designation from the DoD's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), clearing it for streamlined procurement by other federal agencies—a testament to its practical utility.

Proven Performance in a Competitive Field

That Empower AI won this contract as a recompete is perhaps the most telling detail. The company, formerly known as NCI Information Systems, first secured this work in 2019. Retaining such a high-value contract underscores the trust and confidence it has built within DISA over the past five years. In the fiercely competitive federal contracting landscape, incumbency is no guarantee of success; it must be earned through consistent performance and a credible vision for the future.

The federal defense IT market is crowded with giants. In the past year alone, the DoD has awarded hundreds of millions to firms like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic to explore advanced AI capabilities. Against this backdrop, Empower AI’s victory demonstrates the value of specialized domain expertise and a proven track record. The company’s ability to deliver reliable service while simultaneously pushing an innovation agenda proved to be a winning combination.

This win solidifies Empower AI's position as a key partner in the Pentagon's modernization efforts, reinforcing that deep institutional knowledge, when paired with cutting-edge commercial technology, is a powerful force for retaining and expanding a foothold in the defense sector.

Navigating the Pentagon's AI Pivot

Zooming out, this contract is a microcosm of a much larger strategic shift within the Department of Defense. The Pentagon is aggressively pursuing AI across more than 2,000 identified use cases, from battlefield analytics to back-office logistics. However, this ambition faces significant hurdles, including fragmented data, aging legacy systems, and the cultural challenge of building trust in automated systems.

The Empower AI contract represents a tangible step toward overcoming these obstacles at an enterprise level. By embedding AI directly into the IT service delivery model of its headquarters, the DoD is creating a large-scale testbed and proof point for AI's operational value. The success of this program could provide a blueprint for wider adoption across other defense agencies.

It is a pragmatic application of the Pentagon's broader AI strategy, which aims to harness data and analytics to achieve decision dominance and operational superiority. While headlines often focus on autonomous weapons, the foundational work of modernizing the IT infrastructure that supports every decision is equally, if not more, critical. This contract is a clear signal that securing the nation's digital front lines is a top priority, and that AI is now a core tool in that mission.