Elma Electronic awarded contract under Missile Defense Agency (MDA) SHIELD program

Elma Electronic is pleased to announce it was awarded a contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ceiling of $151B. This contract encompasses a broad range of work areas that allows for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility.

The SHIELD contract leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabled applications where pertinent, and maximizes use of digital engineering, open systems architectures, model-based systems engineering, and agile processes in the acquisition, development, fielding and sustainment of these capabilities.

David Feinstein, vice president of sales for Elma Electronic, noted, “Being selected for the SHIELD contract reinforces Elma’s role as a trusted partner delivering mission-ready embedded computing technology, prototyping, architecture development as well as integration and assembly expertise for the nation’s most critical defense systems. A key component of this contract is open systems architectures, an area where Elma has been at the forefront for decades.”

Feinstein added, “The SHIELD IDIQ is a license to rapidly innovate. Elma’s ability to integrate open architecture hardware into deployable, high-reliability systems gives MDA and its partners the agility required to address emerging and complex threats. As a first phase awardee, Elma is committed to fully support current and future initiatives for the DoW’s MOSA mandate, which seeks to improve system interoperability and technology insertion, and is a critical part of the Golden Dome program.”

The SHIELD program encompasses a broad range of work areas that allow for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility. Key scope areas for Elma include rapid prototyping of rugged embedded computing systems to support evolving missile defense missions, embedded computing development using Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles, including alignment with SOSA, VITA, CMOSS, and other open standards as well as system integration and assembly, delivering fully tested, mission-ready subsystems manufactured in the United States.

Elma Electronic is a long‑established supplier of critical embedded systems for military and aerospace applications worldwide, with a strong competency in modular open systems and open standards. As an ITAR registered company, Elma’s U.S. operations provide design, engineering, manufacturing, and test capabilities, enabling close collaboration with government and industry partners throughout the program’s lifecycle.

Through the company’s participation in developing industry initiatives and architectures, such as SOSA, CMOSS, OpenVPX, and other MOSA‑aligned frameworks, Elma develops interoperable, scalable hardware designs for mission computing, C5ISR, electronic warfare, and sensor systems. This commitment to open standards translates to rapid technology insertion as well as lifecycle flexibility and reduce total cost of ownership for its global customer base.