Maximus agrees to buy Agile Defense for $660M, citing its "force-deployed" AI engineers embedded with NORAD and NORTHCOM

Maximus (NYSE: MMS) has agreed to acquire Agile Defense for $660 million in cash, plus a potential $50 million earnout. Agile brings about 1,800 employees, roughly 1,100 of them with security clearances. The deal is expected to close in Maximus' first fiscal 2027 quarter.

Speaking to analysts, Maximus CEO Bruce Caswell pointed to Agile's $100 million prototype agreement with U.S. Northern Command and NORAD. He said Agile does not just build technology and hand it over, but embeds "force-deployed engineers and trainers" alongside users to fit AI into day-to-day mission workflows. Agile calls this its Force Deployed Engineering and Training (FDE&T) model, and it is built around the Pentagon's Maven Smart System and War Data Platform. Caswell also cited Agile's work with the Pentagon's CDAO on AI adoption and deployment.

Why it matters for FDEs: a large government contractor is paying for embedded deployment capability, not just contract vehicles. Defence and national-security FDE work, which usually requires clearances, is becoming a recognised and valuable line of business beyond Palantir and the AI labs.