Florida State University (FSU) has been selected as an awardee for the Missile Defense Agency’s Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract, which has a ceiling of $151 billion, is part of the “Golden Dome for America” homeland defense initiative. The program aims to improve the United States’ ability to detect, track, intercept, and neutralize advanced aerial threats such as ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles.
According to FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Dean Suvranu De, who helped lead the proposal effort, “This selection provides us with a ‘seat at the table’ to help develop the next generation of U.S. homeland defense. This is a gateway that allows FSU to compete for task orders over the next decade, underscoring our standing as a top-tier national research hub for defense technology.”
With this award, FSU joins other leading research institutions and defense contractors designated as prime contractors under SHIELD and will be eligible to compete for various task and delivery orders in coming years. The university may also act as a subcontractor on additional projects through partnerships with other SHIELD awardees.
The FSU College of Engineering will coordinate SHIELD-related activities at the university. Specific projects will involve researchers from several centers: the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, Center for Advanced Power Systems and High-Performance Materials Institute, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research and Education. This structure supports interdisciplinary work in areas such as research and development, prototyping, systems engineering, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson commented on the significance of the contract: “This contract represents a paradigm shift in how we approach defense innovation. FSU is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between fundamental research and operational reality. By aligning the specialized power, materials, aerospace, high field magnets, and cyber command and control capabilities of our renowned centers with the immediate needs of the Missile Defense Agency, we are ensuring that our faculty and students are directly solving the nation’s most complex engineering challenges.”
Center directors played an active role during Fall 2025 in preparing FSU’s proposal by highlighting unique aspects of its research programs.
