U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), Rock Island, IL, on behalf of the Department of War (DoW), through its Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution (WIRE) Directorate, (10 U.S.C. § 4817), in conjunction with Army Contracting Command – Rock Island Arsenal (ACC-RIA), manages the Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022. Cornerstone was architected to create a broad-based, flexible and enduring public-private consortium focused on strategic strengthening of the U.S. Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and provide a strong complement to the mandates in Presidential Executive Order 13806.

ACC-RIA, on behalf of DEVCOM CBC and DoW WIRE, intends to issue a competitive Cornerstone Initiative Request (CIR) for Defense Industrial Base Accelerator (DIBX) – Pitch Competition on or after 01 June 2026, with an estimated closing date of 15 June 2026 days after issuance. The project call seeks to enhance industrial base resilience in three areas:

• Strategic and Critical Materials;


• Expeditionary Manufacturing of Electronics; and


• Fuel Distribution.

The primary goal is to sustain and enhance vital Defense Industrial Base (DIB) capabilities, mitigate supply chain risks, and scale domestic production capacity to meet DoW needs.

This project call will be conducted through a three-phase approach with a down selection after each of the first two phases, and will result in fixed OTA awards after the third phase. Awards are subject to funding.

The period of performance is estimated to be 24 months. A non-competitive follow-on production OT may be awarded following a successful prototype.

Any OT awarded as a result of this initiative will incorporate the following clauses:

1. FAR clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment

2. DFARS clause 252.232-7006, WAWF Payment Instructions

3. DFARS clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting.

The CIR is restricted to Cornerstone Consortium members only and will be communicated to the Cornerstone Consortium and companies with pending applications via email. Entities are required to have begun the membership process for their proposal to be reviewed. Entities must have an active registration in SAM.gov, a favorable status in Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information Systems, and be members of the Cornerstone Consortium, with a signed Cornerstone Consortium Management Agreement, to be eligible to submit a proposal and be eligible for awarded this of an OTA task. Contractors may obtain Cornerstone registration information located at https://cornerstone.army.mil or by inquiring at: usarmy.ria.devcom-cbc.mbx.cornerstone-ota@army.mil .

Interested parties should stay alert for any changes that may be published to this sam.gov posting. Please email all questions and responses to the following mailbox: usarmy.ria.devcom-cbc.mbx.cornerstone-ota@army.mil

This Special Notice is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a CIR or an obligation on behalf of the U.S. Government. Issuance of this Special Notice is not a guarantee of a future CIR or an award and is not a commitment of any kind by the Government.