Three small businesses, none of them on the winner lists of the Air Force's two earlier contracted adversary-air vehicles, now hold spots on a $5.4 billion contract to fly simulated enemy aircraft and close-air-support missions for combat aircrews and ground controllers. The Department of War's Oct. 16, 2026 contracts announcement lists KestrelX LLC of Driggs, Idaho; A2G International LLC of Melbourne, Florida; and Fleet Adversary Support and Training LLC of St. Augustine, Florida, as awardees of a ceiling $5,400,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Combat Air Force Contracted Air Support Program. The Acquisition Management and Integration Center at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity, and the awards are dated Oct. 15.

The announcement assigns each company its own contract number: FA4890-27-D-0001 to Fleet Adversary Support and Training, FA4890-27-D-0002 to A2G International and FA4890-27-D-0003 to KestrelX. All three names carry the asterisk the department's digest uses to mark small businesses.

What the $5.4B CAF CAS Ceiling Buys

The scope in the announcement is short. "This contract provides for adversary air and close air support services," the document states. "Work will be performed throughout the continental U.S. and is expected to be completed by Oct. 8, 2029."

Adversary air, often called Red Air, means contractor-owned aircraft and pilots playing the enemy so Air Force fighter crews can train against realistic opposition. The close-air-support side gives joint terminal attack controllers on the ground aircraft to call in and direct during exercises.

When the Air Force awarded the first version of this program in 2019, the Defense Department described the work this way: "Contractors will provide complete contracted air support services for realistic and challenging advanced adversary air threats and close air support threats," as Air & Space Forces Magazine reported at the time. The magazine added that the work spanned "aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, aircraft systems support, pilots, aircraft maintenance, support equipment" and other management.

Why $3,000 Is the Only Money Committed So Far

The $5.4 billion figure is a ceiling, not a budget. At award, the Air Force obligated $3,000 in fiscal 2027 operations and maintenance funds, according to the announcement. Under an IDIQ structure, the government commits a token minimum at award and then issues task orders as specific bases and units need support. Contractors earn revenue only when they win those orders.

The previous vehicle shows how far actual spending can sit below a ceiling. Washington Technology reported in September 2024 that GovTribe data pegged the Air Force as having "obligated $783.9 million in task order volume, or approximately 13% of that ceiling" on the 2019 contract, which carried a $6.4 billion ceiling. GovConFeed's own division of those figures gives about 12%. Airborne Tactical Advantage took "the largest share of that spend at $343 million, or around 44%."

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The Oct. 16 announcement says the contracts "were competitive acquisitions, and three offers were received." Three awardees were named, matching the three offers received.

How the Three Awardees Compare With the 2019 and 2024 Winner Lists

The Air Force has run this program twice before, both times with much larger pools of companies.

In October 2019, seven companies split a vehicle worth up to $6.4 billion: Air USA, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, Blue Air Training, Coastal Defense, Draken International, Tactical Air Support and Top Aces Corp, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. Eight companies bid. The magazine reported that the contract would cover adversary training "split between about 50,000 hours of adversary air and joint terminal attack controller training."

In September 2024, the Air Force picked eight companies for the Combat Air Force Contracted Air Support 2 recompete, also carrying a $5.4 billion ceiling, Washington Technology reported. The service received 11 bids. The winners were Airborne Tactical Advantage, Blue Air Training, Coastal Defense, Draken International, RAVN Group, Tactical Air Support, Top Aces and Valkyrie Aero, with RAVN and Valkyrie as newcomers.

KestrelX, A2G International and Fleet Adversary Support and Training do not appear on either of those lists. The Oct. 16 announcement does not describe how the new awards relate to the 2024 vehicle, whether they add companies to an existing pool or form a separate track, and GovConFeed did not find published reporting that explains the relationship. The announcement also does not say which share of the work, adversary air or close air support, each company is expected to perform.

What It Means for Contractors

For the three awardees, the award is a license to compete, not a guaranteed revenue stream. With $3,000 obligated and a ceiling of $5.4 billion, the value of each position depends on how many task orders the Air Force issues before the October 2029 completion date and how many of those orders each company wins.

For incumbents on the earlier vehicles, the award adds three small-business names to the field of companies holding Air Force contracted air support contracts. Whether those firms compete head-to-head with the 2024 awardees for the same task orders is not stated in the announcement, so incumbents will want to watch the first orders placed under the FA4890-27 contract numbers.

For companies outside the program, the 2024 and 2026 results point in the same direction: the Air Force continues to buy contracted Red Air and close-air-support training through multiple-award vehicles, and new names have appeared on the winner lists. RAVN Group and Valkyrie Aero joined in 2024; three more names appear in 2026. Firms that own suitable aircraft and can field qualified pilots and maintainers may see a recurring opening, but the 2019 vehicle's spending record, roughly 12 to 13% of its ceiling, suggests bidders should price their business cases around task-order flow rather than the headline number.

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