Agency deep dive · 02
The Department of Defense
Defense is the largest buyer on earth. The FY2026 base request is $961.6 billion — more than every other federal department combined — and roughly $1.045 trillion once reconciliation funding is counted.
The number is so large it hides the thing that actually matters to a small vendor: almost none of it is the F-35. A single air base needs its airfield lights pulled and reset, a shipyard needs 420 nitrogen cylinders hydrotested, a lock and dam needs 600 feet of fiber pulled. That work is bought locally, by a contracting office at the installation, under simplified procedures — and it is where XL Eagle does its Defense work. This page maps the structure that sits behind those buyers.
How Defense is organized
Defense is not one customer. It is three military departments that buy independently, plus a set of defense agencies serving all of them, plus the combatant commands.
Where the money is
The FY2026 base request is $961.6 billion. Here is how it splits across the components.
- Figures are the FY2026 President's Budget request by military department, which sum exactly to the $961.6B base request. The secondary source carrying this breakdown labels the column “enacted appropriations”, but the total is the request total, not the $893B enacted — they are request figures and are labelled as such here.
- Congress enacted $893B in FY2026 Pentagon appropriations. A further $152.3B is available through reconciliation, bringing total FY2026 Pentagon resources to roughly $1.045 trillion.
- “Defense-Wide” covers the defense agencies and field activities — the Fourth Estate — rather than a fourth military service.
Where we have delivered
XL Eagle holds awards across all three military departments and the defense agencies — eleven and counting. Four representative ones:
B-52J airfield lighting BPA
Five-year blanket purchase agreement to remove and reinstall approximately 98 airfield lights per event, supporting the B-52J program at a major air base.
502d CES, JBSA-Lackland · Texas · awarded
Nitrogen cylinder refurbishment
Refurbishment and hydrostatic testing of 420 HP250 nitrogen cylinders for a naval shipyard, with four option years.
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard · Hawaii · on track
Lock and Dam 5A fiber replacement
Approximately 600 linear feet of direct-burial fiber optic and Cat 6 cable replacement at a Mississippi River lock and dam.
USACE St. Paul District · Wisconsin · awarded
DLA and SOCOM supply awards
Parts and supply awards issued through the Defense Logistics Agency's DIBBS system and through U.S. Special Operations Command.
DLA · USSOCOM · delivered
The components, and what they buy
| Component | What it does | What it typically buys |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the ArmyUSA | The land force, and through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the federal government's largest civil-works builder. | Facility sustainment, civil works construction, utilities and cabling, range and training-area maintenance, environmental services. |
| U.S. Army Corps of EngineersUSACE | Builds and maintains locks, dams, levees and navigation infrastructure, and executes military construction. | Heavy civil construction, dredging, electrical and controls, fiber and communications, survey and design. |
| Department of the NavyUSN | The Navy and Marine Corps, their shipyards, air stations and bases. | Ship and shipyard support, calibration and test services, pressure vessels and gas cylinders, facility repair, waterfront services. |
| Naval Supply Systems CommandNAVSUP | Buys supplies and services for the fleet worldwide, including overseas installations. | Calibration, freight and logistics, consumables, equipment overhaul. |
| Naval Facilities Engineering Systems CommandNAVFAC | The Navy's facilities and construction agent. | Construction, facility maintenance, mechanical and electrical systems, utilities. |
| Department of the Air ForceUSAF | The Air Force and Space Force, their bases, civil engineer squadrons and test ranges. | Airfield lighting and pavement, civil engineering, event and base support, environmental and cultural resource studies, hazardous waste. |
| Defense Logistics AgencyDLA | The department's combat logistics support agency; runs the DIBBS portal that issues very high volumes of small parts RFQs. | Spare and repair parts, consumables, packaged fuels, medical and construction materiel. |
| Defense Information Systems AgencyDISA | Provides the department's IT and communications backbone. | Network hardware and services, cabling, cybersecurity support. |
| Defense Health AgencyDHA | Runs the military health system and its facilities. | Medical equipment and services, facility support, imaging and laboratory services. |
| Defense Contract Management AgencyDCMA | Administers contracts after award, including financial and performance oversight. | Administrative and technical support services. |
| Combatant CommandsCOCOMs | Eleven joint commands, including U.S. Special Operations Command, which holds its own acquisition authority. | Mission-specific equipment, training support, facility and logistics services. |
See the live Defense work
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