Operating a contract business with the federal government can require millions of dollars of capital investment to efficiently procure, store, and ship products.
The required capital investment can also require a contractor to secure debt to finance its operations. Contract businesses can quickly deteriorate once government agencies begin canceling contracts that provide contractors hundreds of millions of dollars.
Noble Supply & Logistics files bankruptcy
Major U.S. Defense Department contractor Noble Supply & Logistics LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, facing financial distress after losing several lucrative defense contracts.
The Boston-based global supplier of mission -critical, non-lethal military equipment and services to the U.S. military and its allies filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Aug. 31, listing $100 million to $500 million in assets and $500 million to $1 billion in debts, including over $292 million in funded debt, according to court papers.
Contracts with government agencies
Noble Supply & Logistics, founded by Thomas W. Noble III in 2003, is the fifth largest prime vendor to the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and also a partner of the General Services Administration, which manage the supply chain for the U.S. military, as well as certain federal and state agencies, including the FBI and U.S. State Department, according to a declaration by Chief Transformation Officer Robert Abergotti.
Noble’s contracts fall into two categories: High Touch Customer Solutions, representing 70% of the company’s business and Global Supply Chain Program representing the remaining 30%.
The High Touch portfolio of contracts involves over 100 multi-award contracts, providing customers with an indefinite quantity of supplies or services over a 1-10-year period without a specified order schedule or without minimum volume commitments.
Products supplied through Noble’s High Touch contracts include unmanned aerial vehicles, communications equipment, safety equipment, and tactical gear, according to court papers.
Noble’s Global Supply Chain contracts involve 12 single-award, five- or 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts through which Noble procures, warehouses and distributes products listed in the agreement.
Noble’s largest business line is its Defense & Federal Solutions, which provides tactical, survival, and support equipment and services to the Defense Department and other federal agencies, amounting to $674 million in revenue in 2025.
Agency won’t renew contract
The debtor incurred significant financial distress after the Defense Logistics Agency informed Noble in December 2024 that it wouldn’t renew its 10-year, $1.2 billion FSG-53 contract in June 2026, Noble’s largest single-award contract, to supply the agency with aerospace products, according to the declaration.
The agency also did not comply with contract closeout procedures and end of contract inventory buyback, leaving Noble with $70 million in inventory and purchase obligations that were meant to support the FSG-53 contract.
The Defense Logistics Agency subsequently informed Noble in March 2026 that it would not renew its Fire and Emergency Services Equipment contract, then sent additional notices of non-renewal for other critical contracts in May 2026, according to court papers.
Company issues WARN notices
Noble, which employs 294 workers at 19 locations, issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice on Aug. 10 after entering into a forbearance agreement with its lenders and facing a possible wind-down with limited financing or sale options available at the time.
The Defense Logistics Agency on Aug. 27 terminated $400 million of orders under a special operations equipment contract for tactical gear and safety equipment, which the debtor intends to appeal under the Contracts Disputes Act of 1978, the declaration said. The special operations equipment contract amounted to $630 million in revenue for Noble in 2025.
After considering its debt obligations and multiple contract cancellations, Noble decided that a Chapter 11 filing was the best opportunity to stabilize its operations and maximize the value of its assets, according to the declaration.
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