U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Shane Keahiolalo, 169th Air Defense Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, tests the new Battle Management Training NEXT system at the Western Air Defense Sector, Aug. 26, 2021, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Kimberly D. Burke)
WASHINGTON — General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) announced today it is acquiring Iron EagleX, Inc., a Tampa-based company that provides artificial intelligence, cybersecurity capabilities and software solutions specifically designed to support special forces.
GDIT, a unit of General Dynamics, said in a press release today that this acquisition is “a key part of the company’s technology investment strategy launched last year, which includes investments in technologies such as AI, cyber, software development and quantum.”
“As part of this acquisition, hundreds of highly technical and cleared employees from 18 locations will join GDIT’s workforce of 28,00,” GDIT said. A spokesperson for GDIT said the company could not disclose how much it acquired Iron EagleX for.
Iron EagleX, which is led by retired special ops combat veterans, previously won a nearly $30 million SOCOM contract in March to provide the SOF Digital Applications Program Executive Office with support such as data scientists and data integration specialists. The company also won a max-ceiling $430 million contract in 2022 to provide US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which is also based in Tampa, software solution requirements over 10 years.
“The combination of Iron EagleX and GDIT represents a new chapter in our company’s stated goal of having a ‘generational impact on national security,’” said Michael Grochol, Iron EagleX’s CEO in the press release. “Our team has always focused on delivering positive disruptive change in national security, and as part of GDIT, Iron EagleX will gain access to a tremendous amount of new customers and opportunities to expand on that mission and help make our nation a safer place.”
GDIT said this acquisition “further expands” its work with special forces, specifically SOCOM. The company was awarded a $493 million task order to supply tech support to SOCOM in February.
The acquisition also comes after SOCOM and other special operations officials have made clear their interest in cutting edge tech like AI. Previously, the former top SOCOM acquisition official emphasized how engrained AI will be in everything from acquisitions to operations.
“I think artificial intelligence is a tide that lifts all boats,” Jim Smith, then-acquisition executive for SOCOM, said during SOF Week last year.
However, he added that while developing AI and large language models, industry and the military must also be wary of AI, warning that it won’t be a blanket solution to software modernization.
“I think artificial intelligence is going to be part of our material solution in our software solution approach. I think that’s true. But it’s not a wholesale adoption of generative AI that goes forward,” he said. “Here’s what I worry the most about from an acquisition standpoint: You have to understand the algorithms that are behind AI and we have to understand… the pedagogy, where the information came from and why AI allows that solution.”
UPDATED 11:11am ET on 9/10/2024 to clarify where Iron EagleX is headquarted.
