Legal Question in Business Law in California

Do you mean you would like to steer the company for which you now work into the military supply business, or do you mean you are thinking about starting your own business?

In either case, there is a defense procurement agency (not sure of exact name) that has some responsibility for locating and dealing with suppliers to the military. I'm sure they publish numerous informative articles, manuals, Web sites, pamphlets, etc., directed to small business, new suppliers, minorities, etc. explaining how to learn about military purchasing needs and how to prepare bids or propose contracts.

If you are currently employed, please note that while the law encourages you to go into competition with your employer, you may not set up your new business using your current employer's time or equipment, nor can you misappropriate its trade secrets.

Mr. Whipple gives you a good answer. Some further information: defense contracts are generally awarded based on a competitive bidding process, although many are also awarded on graded RFP process where cost is not the only factor (duh, with $1000 screws). There are also some lesser used methods, all of which are governed by the DoD-FARs. Many contracts require preqalification before you can even bid or submit a proposal. The starting point is to find out what contracts are in the pipeline for what goods and services, and then see if you can provide what they need. If you think you can, then you need to read the bid or RFP documents and figure out from there what you need to do to qualify. It is a very good idea to also have a working knowledge of the DoD-FARs, or hire an attorney who is familiar with government contracting. DoD-FARs are very similar but not identical to the general FARs, so an attorney or employee who knows FARs can probably get up to speed on the DoD-FARs pretty quickly.

Find somebody who is a racial or ethnic minority or a woman or a veteran, preferably all of the above, to associate with your business, and then you can become certified as a Section 8(a) contractor.