GSA's Alliant 3 contract — the federal government's new flagship IT GWAC — is live and accepting orders, with Phase 1 notice to proceed issued on March 10, 2026. According to GSA's official Alliant 3 page, the vehicle carries no dollar ceiling — an explicit departure from Alliant 2's $90.75 billion cap — and an ordering period running through March 9, 2031, with one five-year extension option available. For large and mid-tier IT contractors, Alliant 3 is the most consequential new vehicle to enter the federal market in several years.
Contract Structure, Scope, and Award Phases
Alliant 3 covers the full lifecycle of information technology services across both civilian and defense agencies. The primary NAICS code is 541512, though the vehicle's scope is not limited to that code, and offerors may perform work under a range of IT service categories. Task order types include fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, labor-hour, time-and-materials, and hybrid arrangements — preserving the flexibility that made Alliant 2 one of the most widely used IT GWACs in the federal market over its eight-year ordering period.
GSA received 133 proposals from vendors seeking Alliant 3 positions. Phase 1 resulted in 43 award slots, with the February 20, 2026 notice to proceed and the vehicle going live March 10, 2026. Phase 1 winners include major incumbents Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics IT, Leidos, and Maximus, along with a range of other large and mid-tier IT firms. Ninety proposals remain under evaluation for Phase 2, which will fill 33 additional available positions on the contract. GSA has not announced a final award date for Phase 2, but the evaluation is ongoing and these 33 slots represent the last formal entry point for new Alliant 3 holders in the foreseeable future.
Task orders may extend up to five years beyond the master contract's ordering period expiration, meaning performance under Alliant 3 task orders could run through March 9, 2041 — a 15-year total performance horizon for work awarded in the early years of the vehicle's operation.
No Dollar Ceiling: What That Actually Means
The absence of a ceiling on Alliant 3 is the structural decision that most distinguishes it from every major GWAC that preceded it. Alliant 2 had a $90.75 billion ceiling. GSA's decision to remove that constraint from Alliant 3 reflects both the expanding scale of federal IT spending and the expectation that Alliant 3 will absorb complex, high-value task orders that would previously have been split across multiple vehicles or procured through agency-specific IDIQs that required separate set-up and maintenance overhead.
The no-ceiling design also insulates the vehicle from the administrative disruptions that have periodically afflicted other large IT GWACs when cumulative task order value approaches the contract ceiling. Agencies do not have to worry about Alliant 3 running out of capacity mid-program. That reliability is a meaningful operational advantage for program managers planning multi-year IT modernization efforts that require stable contract infrastructure throughout their lifecycle.
The vehicle is explicitly aligned with Executive Order 14240 on procurement consolidation, which directs agencies to route complex IT requirements through governmentwide vehicles rather than developing and maintaining agency-specific IDIQ contracts. Alliant 3 is positioned as the preferred destination for that consolidated demand, giving it a structural tailwind that few GWAC vehicles have enjoyed at launch. Agency CIOs and chief acquisition officers are actively reviewing their existing agency-specific vehicles to identify candidates for migration to Alliant 3.
Alliant 2 Remains Active
Alliant 2, Alliant 3's predecessor, remains active. Its ordering period runs from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2028, with a $90.75 billion ceiling. Agencies currently using Alliant 2 can continue placing orders on that vehicle through mid-2028. New task orders may go to either vehicle depending on requirement fit, agency preference, and competitive considerations. There is no forced migration from Alliant 2 to Alliant 3 before Alliant 2's ordering period expires, giving agencies flexibility in managing their existing contract relationships and program timelines.
What It Means for Contractors
For the 43 Phase 1 award holders, Alliant 3 is immediately open and ready for business. The priority for Phase 1 contractors is engaging with agency customers early — before those agencies finalize their task order strategies for fiscal year 2027 and beyond. Given the EO 14240 consolidation mandate, agencies that previously used bespoke IDIQs for complex IT work are actively being directed toward Alliant 3. Phase 1 holders have a window now to position themselves as the preferred delivery partner for requirements that will migrate to the vehicle over the next 12 to 24 months, before those requirements are formally competed.
The no-ceiling structure means there is no urgency driven by an approaching capacity limit. But there is a different kind of urgency: once Phase 2 awards close, the Alliant 3 holder community will be set for the foreseeable future with no formal on-ramp planned. Phase 1 contractors who establish strong agency relationships and early task order wins before Phase 2 closes will hold a durable competitive advantage throughout the vehicle's operational life.
For contractors currently in Phase 2 evaluation, the competition is significant. The 90 offerors competing for 33 remaining slots means that roughly two-thirds of Phase 2 offerors will not receive an award. Contractors in Phase 2 should ensure their technical proposals reflect the full-lifecycle IT services scope, the EO 14240 consolidation context, and their demonstrated capability to support both civilian and defense agency customers across a wide range of mission environments.
Contractors not on Alliant 3 and not in Phase 2 evaluation face the hardest path forward. There is no formal on-ramp announced for new entrants after Phase 2 closes. Future access to the vehicle would require a full recompetition at the end of the ordering period — not on the near-term horizon. Contractors in this position should develop robust alternative vehicle strategies, including targeted pursuit of agency-specific IDIQs and other GWACs, while monitoring GSA closely for any supplemental Alliant 3 announcements over the coming months.
Contracting officers should verify that their agency's IT procurement strategy accounts for both Alliant 2 and Alliant 3 during this overlap period to maximize flexibility.
