Signed the day before a fiscal year ended: the calendar shapes beginnings too
An Army contract with Lockheed Martin worth about $3.16 billion. It began on 29 September 2018, the day before the fiscal year closed, and runs to 31 August 2027.
Contract key facts
- RecipientLockheed Martin
- Contract value$3,158,372,223 (≈$3.16B)
- BranchArmy
- Awarding agencyDepartment of Defense
- Awarding sub-agencyDepartment of the Army
- Award typeDEFINITIVE CONTRACT
- Period of performance2018-09-29 〜 2027-08-31
- Contract ID (PIID)W31P4Q18C0130
Contract scope (original)
HELLFIRE BUY 17 PRODUCTION.
Key points
- Signed by the Department of the Army on 29 September 2018 for about $3.16 billion, the day before the fiscal year closed.
- Of the 208 Defense Department contracts this site holds as of 2026-09-06, 15 begin on or after 15 September and seven begin on 1 October.
- The contract ends on 31 August 2027, a month-end that is not a fiscal year end.
- Outlays stand at about $31.6 million, 1.00% of the amount obligated.
1Signed the day before the year closed
The series has so far looked at endings. Even where the content is unreadable, as in the previous article, the ending still sits on the last day of a fiscal year. Here the start date takes the stage. This contract began on 29 September 2018, the day before 30 September, the last day of the fiscal year.
| Start date | Contracts | Character |
|---|---|---|
| On or after 15 September | 15 | Signed before the year closes |
| On 1 October | 7 | Beginning with a new fiscal year |
| On any other day | 186 | Unrelated to the year boundary |
The counts come from the 208 Defense Department contracts this site holds as of 2026-09-06. The peaks are lower than at the closing end, but they exist. Signing before the year closes points to using that year of funding; starting on the first day points to the year ahead.
2The ending is a month-end, not a year-end
The contract closes on 31 August 2027, the last day of a month but not of a fiscal year. It stops one month short of a year boundary, crossing nine fiscal years in all. Across the 208 records this site holds as of 2026-09-06, 139 (66.8%) end on the last day of a month, and 34 of those fall on 30 September. The habit of ending at a month boundary and the habit of ending at a year boundary overlap without being the same.
3The description counts the buys
Four words, "HELLFIRE BUY 17 PRODUCTION.", identify a seventeenth bulk order. A record whose description carries a lot or buy number announces that orders came before and after it, which makes it comparatively easy to read. Whether the sixteenth or eighteenth exists in the data held here is another question.
The final article looks at an ending that does not sit on any calendar boundary.
Why it matters
Start dates show two peaks: just before a year closes and on the first day of a new one. Both hint at which year of appropriations a contract runs on.
FAQ
Why are contracts signed just before a fiscal year ends?
What is different about contracts beginning on 1 October?
Does "BUY 17" mean the seventeenth?
Sources (primary)
This article is an independent organization based on the U.S. official spending data below. Verify the exact, latest details with the official source.
- USAspending (award details)
- Contract ID (PIID)：W31P4Q18C0130