The “Department of War” is the same cabinet‑level department that has long been known as the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), which runs the U.S. military. In September 2025, a presidential executive order allowed the Pentagon to use “Department of War” as a secondary/alternate name in official communications, but the underlying department, mission, and legal structure remain those of the Department of Defense unless Congress changes the law.
War.gov is the official .gov website of the U.S. Department of War (the Pentagon). The site itself notes it is “an official website of the United States Government,” and the Contracts section on War.gov is the authoritative place where the department publishes its daily list of contracts valued at $7.5 million or more; the same content is also reachable via Defense.gov.
The $7.5 million figure is the internal threshold the department uses for what gets included in these public “Contracts” announcements; on its site it states simply that “contracts valued at $7.5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.” The department has not publicly explained why it chose $7.5 million specifically, but smaller awards are still recorded in government‑wide data systems such as USAspending.gov and in procurement notices on SAM.gov, even though they do not appear in these daily press summaries.
You can view the full list of daily contract announcements on the Department of War contracts page at https://www.war.gov/News/Contracts/, which lists “Contracts for [date]” items and has a search and date filter. The specific Dec. 16, 2025 entry is accessible via the Defense Department’s contracts section at https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4361740/ (which mirrors the War.gov content).
According to the department’s own contracts page, contract announcements that meet the $7.5 million threshold are published “each business day at 5 p.m.” In practice this means one consolidated posting for qualifying contracts on most weekdays when the federal government is open, with timing sometimes adjusted around federal holidays or unusual events.
These daily listings typically cover a wide range of large defense contracts, including: (1) weapons and major equipment (e.g., Boeing’s contract to modify and extend the service life of F/A‑18 Super Hornet fighter jets); (2) services such as base operations support, logistics, IT, training, or maintenance (e.g., Amentum’s base operations support contract at Naval Station Mayport); (3) construction and facility projects; and (4) research and development and other specialized technical services. Any type of contract can appear as long as its total value meets or exceeds the $7.5 million reporting threshold.
Companies that want to bid on similar Defense/War Department work should monitor the federal government’s central portal for contract solicitations, SAM.gov, specifically the “Contract Opportunities” section, where DoD and other agencies post pre‑solicitation notices, solicitations, and award notices. Firms can also consult DoD’s industry guidance and small‑business resources (for example, through business.defense.gov) for instructions on registration, compliance, and how to compete for these procurements.