February 2026 M&A Insider Report
Defense, Government & Intelligence | Security | Critical Infrastructure | Maritime
Download Full Report PDF →In late February, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to "immediately cease" using Anthropic's AI, Claude, following reported disputes between Anthropic and Palantir officials over the U.S. military's use of Anthropic's technology in the January operation to capture Venezuelan president Maduro. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ultimately labelled Anthropic as a supply chain risk, announcing a six-month phase-out process to transition away from Claude to other AI models. Shortly thereafter, the Pentagon signed a contract with OpenAI to deploy its models across defense networks.
Earlier in the month, the CIA announced a new acquisition framework to "turbocharge collaboration with the private sector." Together with a centralized vendor vetting and IT authorization process, the new framework aims to reduce the time between when the CIA identifies a mission requirement and when it receives operating authority to use a capability. The framework aligns with the DoD's November 2025 Acquisition Transformation Strategy, which prioritized speed and flexibility, including the use of non-traditional acquisition methods such as Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs).
The Defense Primes index (+51% over the TTM) maintained its strong performance as of the end of February as the Pentagon continued to emphasize the need to ramp up production, particularly of advanced missile and interceptor technologies with thin stockpiles, which have seen heavy use since the beginning of the Iran conflict.
| Value | Customer | Awardee | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,500M | U.S. Coast Guard | Davie Defense | Design and construct five Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs) |
| $1,900M | U.S. Air Force | Lockheed Martin | Produce, modernize, sustain and support C-130J training systems |
| $1,269M | U.S. Army | Elbit Systems / L3Harris / Photonis Defense | Produce and test Binocular Night Observation Devices (BiNOD) for PdM SMS |
| $1,000M | DHS | Palantir | Commercial software licenses, maintenance, and implementation services department wide |
| $875M | U.S. Dept. of Justice | SOS International | Language interpretation services for immigration court proceedings |
| $697M | U.S. Army | Booz Allen Hamilton | Mission support for U.S. Army exercises at Fort Leavenworth, KS |
| $499M | USSTRATCOM | National Strategic Research Institute | Engineering & research capabilities related to WMD, cyber security and HAZMATs |
| $480M | NAVSEA | Lockheed Martin | Software development for AN/SQQ-89(V) Undersea & Anti-Submarine Warfare system |
| $463M | U.S. Army | Rolls-Royce | Power Pack Less Transmission (PPLT) kits for the Merkava Main Battle Tank |
Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs
- In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump's tariffs under emergency powers were illegal and needed to be refunded.
- President Trump responded that he would issue new tariffs under the 1974 Trade Act, which allows up to 15% tariffs for 150 days. Trump implemented 10% tariffs effective February 24 and mentioned raising them to the maximum 15%.
War in Iran
- On February 28, 2026, Israel and the U.S. launched joint airstrikes on Iran, targeting military infrastructure and senior Iranian officials, including Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran, who was killed in the opening strikes.
- The operation follows an Iranian crackdown on protests against the regime and the ensuing buildup of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, including multiple aircraft carrier strike groups.
DHS Partial Government Shutdown
- On February 14, 2026, funding for certain components of DHS, such as TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard, lapsed as Congress remains in a stalemate over reforms to ICE tactics.
- The lapse in funding led to over 50,000 TSA agents working without guaranteed pay, causing staffing shortages and long security wait times at major airports.
U.S. Intelligence Supports Mexican Military Operation Against Cartel Boss
- On February 22, Mexican military forces, supported by U.S. intelligence, killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
- The operation sparked widespread cartel violence and roadblocks across Mexico, leading to a "shelter-in-place" order for U.S. tourists.
On February 10, Microsoft released an urgent security update addressing 54 vulnerabilities across its ecosystem, including an unusually high number of zero-day exploits (six) that were already being actively exploited in the wild. The actively exploited zero-days bypassed security features or enabled privilege escalation in core components such as Microsoft Word, the MSHTML Platform, Windows Shell, and Windows Remote Desktop Services. The patch also addressed severe Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities in Azure services and in developer tools such as GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code.
In early February, Substack disclosed that an October 2025 API vulnerability exposed the emails, phone numbers, and internal metadata of nearly 700,000 users after remaining undetected for roughly 100 days. Although passwords and full financial data were not compromised, cybersecurity experts warn that the exposed user-specific metadata significantly increases the risk of highly targeted phishing campaigns.
An Iranian-linked hacking group known as Seedworm — also tracked as MuddyWater, Temp Zagros, and Static Kitten — has targeted multiple U.S. organizations since early February 2026, raising concerns across critical infrastructure networks. Activity from the group has escalated following the U.S. and Israeli military strikes that killed Ali Khamenei, Iran's former Supreme Leader, increasing fears that the cyber operations could be part of a retaliatory campaign. Over the years, the group has expanded its targeting focus beyond the Middle East to include telecom companies, defense contractors, local governments, and oil and gas companies across Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
Researchers warn that hackers already maintain persistent access within several systems through newly developed malware and backdoors, which could allow them to shift from intelligence gathering to more disruptive attacks if directed. The activity underscores the heightened risk of state-sponsored cyber operations targeting the federal, state, and local government infrastructure.
The current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, caused by Iranian retaliation in response to ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes, has triggered one of the most severe disruptions to maritime transport in decades, effectively paralyzing one of the world's most vital trade arteries. Following the military escalations in late February 2026, the strait is now classified as a "high-risk" zone, with commercial traffic reaching near-zero levels as over 1,000 vessels remain stranded or idle. War risk insurance premiums have surged — in some cases by over 1,000% — and spot tanker rates have quadrupled, with some VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) charters exceeding $200K per day.
Major carriers like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended Gulf bookings, rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds up to 14 days to transit times and imposes emergency surcharges of up to $4,000 per container.
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Complete deal tables, valuation multiples, public company comps, and contract awards across all sectors.
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