GSA AAS Trends in 2025: Top Contractors, Top Customers, and What It Means for Federal IT Pursuits
Over the past five fiscal years (FY2020–FY2024), the landscape of procurements executed through the General Services Administration Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) program has shifted in ways that are highly instructive for federal contractors pursuing large-scale IT, C5ISR, cyber, and modernization work.
Building on our last update from February 2023, this blog continues our series exploring trends in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) landscape. GSA AAS provides federal agencies with full-spectrum, “cradle to grave” acquisition, project, and financial management support.
This analysis identifies:
- The top GSA AAS contractors by obligations
- The federal agencies most reliant on AAS
- The specific contract awards driving ranking changes
- The strategic trends shaping AAS competitions in 2025
Who Are the Top GSA AAS Contractors (FY20–FY24)?
Based on USASpending obligations, the top performers in GSA AAS procurements are:
- CACI International
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- SMX
- Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
- General Dynamics
- SAIC
- Parsons
- ManTech
- Leidos
- Deloitte
Figure 1 – Visual representation of the top 10 GSA AAS winners by action obligations over the last five years (FY2020 to FY2024). Source: USASpending.gov
Why CACI Overtook Booz Allen
CACI became the top AAS contractor primarily due to:
- CBP’s BEAGLE program
- The $526M Army PEO-C3T GENMOD task order
- Long-running AAS network modernization and sustainment programs
This indicates that persistent performance on multi-year enterprise modernization programs is more impactful than one-off wins.
Why SMX Jumped to #3
SMX’s rise is directly tied to:
- The $3.2B LEIA follow-on
- The $1.2B C3PO program
- The $986M MARLINS task order
All are C5ISR-heavy, Combatant Command-oriented programs; a major AAS pattern.
Why HII Entered the Top Tier
HII’s $3B LOGIX award aligned directly to DoD’s JADC2 priorities, showing that AAS is increasingly used for strategic, cross-domain capability programs, not simple services.
Which Federal Customers Use GSA AAS the Most?
The top AAS customers have remained consistent:
But what matters is why.
Under these customers sit Combatant Commands (e.g., INDOPACOM) that fund:
- C5ISR modernization
- Network sustainment
- Warfighter training environments
- Software lifecycle engineering
Emerging AAS Customers
There is growing AAS usage from:
- Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- Washington Headquarters Service (WHS)
- U.S. Department of State (DOS)
These agencies use AAS when procurements involve complex IT, lifecycle engineering, or enterprise program management.
Top 10 Federal Customers Leveraging AAS
Figure 2 – Top 10 GSA AAS customers by spending (in millions). Source: USASpending.gov
When analyzing data from USASpending.gov, we can see that the top federal customers using GSA AAS to run procurements have not changed significantly from our previous blogs. Over the last two years, the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy have remained the top spenders on AAS procurements.
There are slight increases from other agencies like the DODEA for programs like Accenture’s (via legacy Cognosante) Military OneSource, the CBP for LMI’s Acquisition Program Management & Technical Solutions Recompete (APMTS II), the WHS for Deloitte’s Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base Support program, and DOS for various Bureau of Consular Affairs support programs.
Major AAS Awards That Explain the Trends
Several recent awards define the current AAS environment:
- $716 million ETOPS (European Theater Operations and Planning Services)
- $625M ARTEMIS (Air National Guard innovation support)
These are not commodity buys. They are long-term, technically complex, enterprise-level programs requiring integrator-grade primes.
The Clear Pattern in GSA AAS Procurements
Across all top awards, four themes dominate:
- C5ISR and network modernization
- Cyber and enterprise IT platforms
- Software lifecycle and systems engineering
- Warfighter training and operational readiness systems
This explains why traditional integrators dominate AAS obligations.
What This Means for Contractors Pursuing AAS Work in 2025
GSA AAS is no longer primarily a vehicle for convenience-assisted buying.
It is now the preferred path when agencies need to procure:
- Large-scale modernization programs
- Multi-domain technical integration
- Programs tied to Combatant Command missions
- Enterprise IT and C5ISR ecosystems
Contractors that win AAS work typically have:
- Prior enterprise modernization past performance
- C5ISR and network credentials
- Experience supporting GCC-aligned missions
- Capability to manage long-term, high-ceiling task orders
Why This Matters for Competitive Strategy
If you are pursuing AAS-led competitions, you are not competing in a typical services environment.
You are competing against firms like:
- Peraton
- CACI
- Booz Allen
- SMX
- HII
These firms win because they align with the exact technical and mission patterns AAS customers prioritize.
Understanding why they win is more important than knowing that they win.
Key Takeaway
GSA AAS in 2025 is the acquisition path of choice for large, strategic, technically complex defense and federal IT programs. The contractors leading in AAS are those positioned at the intersection of C5ISR, enterprise modernization, and Combatant Command mission support.
Any company pursuing AAS opportunities must shape its positioning, teaming, and past performance narrative around those exact themes.
Are you getting ready for the incredibly competitive GSA AAS-led competitions? FedSavvy Strategies is routinely involved in these complex engagements to provide GSA AAS-specific competitive intelligence. We also have partners that work with us to help you win against the top-tier prime contractors featured in this blog. Would you like to discuss your pursuit with us? Contact us to set up a discussion.
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