The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) market is consolidating. Year-to-date (YTD) 2025 the U.S. sector has logged 37 transactions, up 2.8% year over year. Strategic acquirers still drive most of the volume, but financial sponsors are rising. Capstone Partners notes that private strategic buyers are targeting scalable intelligence platforms with broad Government, Defense, and Commercial addressability, while private equity groups are using platform and add-on deals to build data, sensing, and secure communications capabilities aligned to Department of War demand.
Golden Dome, initiated by executive order in January 2025, is the core driver. It is described as a space-to-ground, multi-layered U.S. defense shield intended to protect against intercontinental, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats. The White House cites an expected cost of about $175 billion and an operational target before 2029. The Department of War has made Golden Dome a top priority and is requiring integrated, multi-domain command and control instead of siloed systems. This is pushing spend on C4ISR, missile warning, and space-based sensing. L3Harris has disclosed $225 million to expand two satellite manufacturing and test facilities to support Golden Dome tracking needs.
Portfolio moves are being steered toward Golden Dome. Redwire bought Edge Autonomy in January 2025 for $925 million at 3.2x EV/Revenue and 12.9x EV/EBITDA; the deal adds multi-domain C2 capability and helped Redwire secure a U.S. Army Long-Range Reconnaissance program contract. Raft acquired N3bula Systems in June 2025 (undisclosed) to strengthen AI and data for autonomous battle management. Private equity is also deploying capital: Mill Point Capital bought SS8 Networks in June 2025 (undisclosed) and McNally Capital bought Quiet Professionals in May 2025 (undisclosed). Rocket Lab acquired GEOST in July 2025 for $252.7 million, and Parsons bought Chesapeake Technology International in June 2025 for $89 million, about 1x EV/Revenue and 10x EV/EBITDA, to extend multi-domain command and control, electronic warfare, and space-based missile tracking.
Pricing reflects this shift. Average revenue purchase multiples have more than doubled year over year, from 1.3x to 2.7x in YTD 2025, while average EBITDA multiples have normalized from 15.7x to 10.1x. Capstone Partners links this to competition for growth assets that deliver AI-enabled autonomy, high-fidelity sensing, and integrated command and control across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. Buyers are prioritizing software-defined intelligence and battle management engines that can plug directly into Golden Dome timelines and broader Department of War requirements.
Analyst View: Capstone Partners expects these conditions to create near-term revenue and keep M&A elevated. Golden Dome’s scale, compressed schedule, and the Department of War’s openness to both primes and non-traditional vendors will continue to drive acquisitions through the second half of 2025 and into 2026 as buyers compete for multi-domain command and control and space-based sensing roles.