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Volume 112: The FAR Overhaul and Pricing; Asking the Right Questions

Author

Kit Conway
February 05, 2026

In This Week's Newsletter:

Opportunity Alert – DOA LRPM

Contact Katie: [email protected]

Department of the Army, Long Range Precision Munition (LRPM) Launched Effects Medium Range Lethal Capability Systems Integration. 

The Army requires the integration of a U.S. Government-designed payload section onto a commercial air vehicle that can be launched from the government-designed Launched Effects Dispenser for Ground and Rotorcraft (LEDGR). The Contracting Office anticipates releasing the final RFP for this $200M opportunity in May 2026, with an estimated award timeframe of October 2026. The competition type is currently unknown. Contact Hinz Consulting for Capture, Price-to-Win, Competitive Intelligence, and Proposal Support, and continue to monitor SAM.gov for any updates to the procurement timeline.

Four to Follow

  1. Department of the Navy, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, Cyberspace Science Research, Engineering, and Technology Integration, Unrestricted Multiple Award Contract (MAC). On January 30, 2026, the Contracting Office released a Presolicitation Notice stating that NIWC Pacific intends to issue a solicitation for contractors to provide advisory support, coordination, and deliverables essential to operational planning, assessment, integration, execution, and technology development to maintain superiority in the cyberspace domain. The government intends to release this $500M, Full and Open/Unrestricted MAC in February 2026 with a potential award timeframe of Q3 FY2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for updates to this opportunity.

  2. Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), DBB Area Maintenance Support Activity Vehicle Maintenance Shop (AMSA VMS). On February 2, 2026, the Contracting Office released a Special Notice to inform industry of an Industry Day schedule for February 19, 2026, at the Coraopolis Army Reserve Center in Moon Township, PA, in the auditorium. A Teams link will also be provided for those who cannot attend in person. Register for the event no later than Tuesday, February 17. The final RFP for this $100M effort is expected to be released in March 2026, with a potential award date of July 2026. The competition type for this effort is currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further information and changes to the procurement schedule.

  3. Department of the Army, USACE, Program Support for the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (SERDP/ESTCP). On February 3, 2026, the Contracting Office released a Presolicitation Notice via SAM.gov to inform industry of the upcoming final solicitation date of February 20, 2026. The award date for this $48M Full and Open/Unrestricted opportunity is projected for September 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for any updates.

  4. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Modular Mobile Surveillance Systems (M2S2). On January 27, 2026, the Contracting Office released the Draft Acquisition Strategy and Q&As. CBP needs a contractor to manufacture, ship, and deliver M2S2 units, which are truck-mounted telescoping masts equipped with electro-optical day cameras, infrared night cameras, and radars for mobile detection, identification, classification, and tracking. The government anticipates releasing the final RFP for this $100M Full and Open/Unrestricted effort via GSA MAS on April 15, 2026, with an award date in November 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov and your eBUY portal for any changes to the solicitation timeline.

Asking the Right Questions

Contact John: [email protected]

When applying the Capture Methodology to your assigned opportunities, “questions” are not just for gathering data — they can also be used to strategically shape the procurement process in your favor. In fact, your questions serve as the "steering wheel" for the entire pursuit.

Questions can impact the capture process by:

1. Shaping the Requirements

Early in the Capture phase, questions allow you to influence the RFP. By asking technical or performance-based questions, you can persuade the customer to include requirements that align with your company's strengths and make it harder for competitors to meet them.

2. Validating the Win Strategy

Questions provide the critical evidence needed to pivot or stay the course. They help validate whether value propositions resonate with key decision makers. Answers to questions can reveal a pain point or a different stance on a requirement, prompting you to adjust your strategy before the final RFP is released.

3. Competitive Intelligence (Ghosting the Competition)

Strategic questioning helps you uncover customers' needs. By asking questions (e.g., about their experience with current systems, SW, or environments), you can identify pain points related to incumbent providers. From there, you can develop a ghosting strategy and incorporate it into your proposal response without naming the competitor.

4. Relationship Building and Credibility

Questions signal to the customer that you are a Thought Leader, not just a vendor. High-level, insightful questions show you understand their mission-critical enterprise. This builds trust and positions your company and team as a strategic partner. 

The FAR Overhaul and Pricing

Contact Tom: [email protected]

If you’re a Pricing Analyst, the 2026 FAR Overhaul (RFO) isn’t just a regulatory update—it’s a career promotion from "data entry clerk" to "strategic consultant." I believe the new FAR is designed to move you from counting paperclips to analyzing markets! Here’s why your life is about to get much better:

1. You are no longer so TINA-focused

Previously, the $2.5M TINA threshold was so low that nearly every mid-market deal required "forensic accounting" to review historical data and avoid defective pricing.

  • The Change: With the threshold jumping to $10M, that "compliance terror" is gone for a large portion of your portfolio.

  • The Opinion: You can finally stop spending 40 hours a week verifying whether a 2023 travel voucher was "current, accurate, and complete" and instead focus on whether the price actually makes sense for the 2026 market.

2. Market Research Replaces Audit Defense

The rewrite of FAR Part 12 makes “commerciality” the default. This is a significant win for your sanity.

  • The Old Way: You had to prove your cost structure (labor rates, overhead, profit pools) to justify the price.

  • The New Way: You only have to prove market value. Your job shifts from internal cost analyst to market intelligence expert. You’ll spend your time reviewing GSA Advantage, commercial catalogs, and competitor trends rather than arguing with DCAA auditors about fringe benefit rates.

3. Fewer Checkbox Clauses, More Business Judgment

The RFO has removed nearly one-third of the non-statutory clauses.

  • The Benefit: You won't have to spend your days cross-referencing 150+ pricing-related clauses in a single RFP. The new FAR is organized by Acquisition Lifecycle, so the pricing rules are where they belong (Part 15 for negotiated, Part 12 for commercial), rather than scattered like confetti throughout the document.

4. The CAS Trigger Relief

The increase in the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) threshold from $2.5M to $35M means you won't accidentally "CAS-cover" your entire company just by winning one mid-sized contract. This removes the “accounting police" from your desk, allowing you to use your company’s standard commercial accounting rather than maintaining a separate, expensive government-compliant system.

The Verdict

The 2026 FAR changes turn the Pricing Analyst role into a value-add position. You are no longer a barrier to the Win; you are the person who understands how to leverage market data to make the bid competitive.

There is still a long way to go, and some of these changes may never be realized. Key takeaways and notes of interest:

  • Compliance will never go away.

  • Pricing was always value-added, but now it adds strategy.

  • There might be pushback on some items, but we are moving in the right direction.

  • It will take time for the industry to implement all updates, if approved.

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

  • Proposals

  • Capture

  • Price To Win

  • Competitive Intelligence

  • Strategic Pricing

  • Production

  • AI Services

  • Training

  • BD Transformation 

  • Process/Methodology 

  • Tools and Template

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