Contracts · Software
Army's Project Gatekeeper will vet vendor software before contracts, officials say
The AI-enhanced security sandbox opens Oct. 23, Breaking Defense and DefenseScoop reported. The Army tied wider commercial access to a Login.gov link planned for mid-November.
The Army will open Project Gatekeeper on Oct. 23, Breaking Defense reported. The sandbox will run on the Army's cloud, isolated from operational networks, where companies will put software through the service's standardized cybersecurity tools, including an AI assessment.1 They can do so before they have an Army contract or sponsoring program manager, officials said Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference.1–2 Acting Army Chief Information Officer Gabe Chiulli heads the effort, DefenseScoop reported.2–3
Gatekeeper will let companies test their software before they have an Army contract
AI-enhanced cybersecurity sandbox designed to vet commercial software for use on Army networks
the automated system will either tell the company its software passed the test or give detailed, actionable feedback explaining why it failed
Companies will still need CAC cards to access the platform initially
officials said, if a program manager takes on the software through acquisition pathways, it is already vetted
the Army is finalizing an agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA) to use its Login.gov platform
Breaking Defense reported Oct. 13, 2026; DefenseScoop reported Oct. 14, 2026. Data as of Oct. 14, 2026.
Bringing commercial software onto Army networks was "up to every program manager," said David Markowitz, the Army's chief data and analytics officer. Many offices waited for another organization to grant an Authority to Operate (ATO), Breaking Defense reported. "A lot of times, organizations in the Army won't talk to [companies] until they have this 'golden ATO,'" Chiulli said. In Breaking Defense's assessment, the companies best positioned to win Army software contracts were often those that already had them.1 For vendors, software scanned in Gatekeeper is already vetted if a program manager takes it on through an acquisition pathway, officials said, according to DefenseScoop.2
Chiulli describes success as a company logging in, submitting code and getting "the green check mark from our pipeline that says you are good to go" within minutes. Clearance now can take days or weeks, stalling some projects for as long as nine months, officials said, according to Breaking Defense.1 Neither Breaking Defense nor DefenseScoop reported funding or a contract vehicle for Gatekeeper.1–2
At launch, companies still need Common Access Cards to reach the platform, a credential Chiulli said the Army spent "a lot of time and energy" getting for company personnel, Breaking Defense reported. The Army is still finalizing a General Services Administration agreement to use Login.gov, targeting integration by mid-November. David Wright of the Army Software and Innovation Center said that step would make Gatekeeper "actually commercially accessible."1
Sources (3)
- Breaking Defense: Army's Project Gatekeeper aims to cut software approval times from months to 'minutes' (Oct. 13, 2026) breakingdefense.com
- DefenseScoop: Army to launch Project Gatekeeper, an effort to make it easier for vendors to onboard software (Oct. 14, 2026) defensescoop.com
- U.S. Army: Office of the Chief Information Officer, leaders www.army.mil