The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced today that four teams supporting MDA under the auspices of the Department of Defense (DoD) Mentor-Protégé Program will receive the prestigious Nunn-Perry Award. The award, named in honor of former Senator Sam Nunn and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, was first awarded in 1995 and recognizes mentor-protégé teams that have excelled in technical developments, cost effectiveness and increased business opportunities for small disadvantaged firms.

The following mentor-protégé teams were four out of 14 award winners for 2014 announced by the DoD’s Office of Small Business Programs. The recipients are the teams of The Boeing Company of Huntsville, Alabama, and Victory Solutions Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama; Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Huntsville, Alabama, and IERUS Technologies Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama; Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Arizona, and Advanced Powder Solutions Inc. of Cypress, Texas; and Tec-Masters Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, and ProjectXYZ of Huntsville, Alabama.

The DoD Mentor-Protégé Program assists small businesses to successfully compete for prime contract and subcontract awards by partnering them with large companies under individual, project-based agreements. Successful mentor-protégé agreements provide a winning relationship for the protégé, the mentor, and the DoD.

“The DoD Mentor-Protégé Program benefits MDA by fostering lasting partnerships between large business prime contractors who support the agency and small innovative businesses that have capabilities we can use,” said Lee Rosenberg, director of the MDA Office of Small Business Programs.

“The idea is to improve the quality and cost of the products and services we deliver to the warfighter by tapping into the innovation and flexibility of the small business community while we help them grow their capabilities,” said Rosenberg.

The winning teams will receive the award at the Nunn-Perry Awards Ceremony March 12 at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia.