Communications, Network, Engineering, Cybersecurity, and Information Technology Services (CNECTS), aka "Connects"

nt of War (DoW) Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. Effective immediately, the Department has suspended the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Phase II requirements, which were originally scheduled to go into effect on November 10, 2026. What does this mean? While Phase II is suspended to reduce administrative barriers, the Department maintains a strict cybersecurity posture: Phase I Remains Active: All CMMC Phase I self-assessment requirements remain firmly in place. Contractual Enforcement Continues: Contractual enforcement of cybersecurity remains fully active. All defense contractors must still comply with DFARS 252.204-7012, which requires the implementation of NIST SP 800-171 security controls to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). 9 July 2026 Updated: General Status Updated Regarding the Acquisition Path and Timeline We appreciate your continued interest and your patience as we work through the pre-acquisition phases. This correspondence is to provide a general status update regarding the acquisition path and timeline: Current Review Status: The CNECTS follow-on is a highly complex acquisition that consolidates multiple legacy contracts across critical Space Force installations. At this time, several critical reviews and strategy documents have not yet been approved. Path Forward: Because of the technical and structural complexity of this effort, we are working diligently to secure all necessary senior-level approvals. As soon as we obtain a more definitive pathway and approved strategy, we will provide an updated milestone schedule to Industry. A Viable Requirement: We want to emphasize that this remains a highly viable contract action. The Government is fully committed to this consolidated effort and is actively progressing through the required regulatory steps. Virtual Industry Day: Due to the extensive delay between the initial Industry Day and the upcoming release of the CSO/Area of Interest (AOI), the Space Acquisition and Integration Office (SAIO) plans to host a Virtual-Only Industry Day. The purpose of this event will be to walk through the CSO and the specific AOI requirements prior to their release, aiming to address as many questions as possible before the official solicitation goes live. One-on-One Meetings: In conjunction with these updates, one-on-one (1-1) meetings will be offered to any new requesters that have not previously met with the CNECTS acquisition team. Due to high interest and resource constraints, we are unable to accommodate repeat meetings with previously engaged parties. As a reminder, when the solicitation is released, it will be executed as a 100% Small Business Set-Aside using the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) phased evaluation process. We encourage you to continue to monitor SAM.gov for all future updates, draft releases, and formal announcements regarding this requirement. Thank you again for your time, interest, and continued support of this mission. 10 June 2026 Updated: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Decision At this time, the acquisition strategy has not been approved. Unfortunately, this process has taken longer than initially anticipated, and the Government is still actively working through the approval process. However, we are able to share an update regarding the SBA's decision: The SBA has officially released the two previous contracts�WICS II and PEDS�from the 8(a) program. Concurrently, the initially approved consolidated Justification and Approval (J&A) decision has been changed. Therefore, the CNECTS acquisition will now be competed as a 100% Small Business Set-Aside. Thank you all for your continued interest in the CNECTS acquisition. We appreciate your patience as we finalize the remaining acquisition strategy approvals. All interested parties are advised to continue to monitor SAM.gov for all formal notifications, updated timelines, and future releases of information regarding this requirement. 01 May 2026 Updated: Release of Consolidated Questions and Answers (Q&As) and Updated PEDS PWS. The Government is pleased to announce the release of the long-awaited consolidated Questions and Answers (Q&A) matrix resulting from the recent industry engagement phase. Please be advised that this Q&A release primarily focuses on the information required for successful Phase I submissions. Additionally, an updated Performance Work Statement (PWS) for PEDS have been included with this post. 31 March 2026 Updated: Apologies for the omission. The RFI response deadline is 1400 on Tuesday, 7 April 2026. 30 March 2026 Updated: Rejection of Early White Paper Submission � CNECTS Acquisition The draft CSO and AOIs were published for reference and feedback only! Please DO NOT submit any white papers prior to the authorized submission window. The Government will only accept white papers submitted within the designated submission period. Any submission received before the official opening date or after the closing date is considered non?responsive and cannot be reviewed, evaluated, or retained. To preserve the integrity, fairness, and transparency of the competitive process, the Government strictly enforces all procedural requirements. No exceptions or waivers may be granted for early submissions. Submit white papers only after the official submission window opens, in accordance with the instructions and timelines that will be published in the solicitation. 27 March 2026 Updated: Official Release of Industry Day Materials & Request for Feedback SAIO has officially uploaded the presentation slides and supporting documents from the recent CNECTS Industry Day conference. Q&A Posting Delay: Please be advised, due to the large quantity of questions received and the need to coordinate with our mission partners, the consolidated Q&A log will be delayed. The Government anticipates posting the official Q&A document by 10 April 2026 The following materials are now available to assist our industry partners in preparing for the forthcoming solicitation. Newly available materials include: Official Industry Day Presentation Slides Draft copy of the CSO and AOI(s) Supporting solicitation documents PEDS PWS: This document has been re-added for reference, as some requirements from the PEDS program will be retained for the CNECTS acquisition Industry Day Recordings: Due to their large file size, the recordings are available upon request and will be sent through DOD SAFE. Interested parties should submit a request via email to rosalind.davis.3@spaceforce.mil. All interested parties are encouraged to review these materials thoroughly. To help us refine the final solicitation, please provide all feedback on the posted materials via the RFI link posted here: https://forms.osi.apps.mil/r/wEcneQjVku We appreciate the valuable engagement from industry and look forward to your participation in the CNECTS program. Please continue to monitor this channel for further updates. 04 March 2026 Updated: CNECTS Industry Day _General Session Information Due to the large number of attendees, we did not send individual notifications. Instead, a representative from each company was sent the information for Industry Day. Please note that a mass email with these details was sent out to a company representative yesterday, March 3, 2026, at 9:03 AM MST. For In-Perso