Cleared facility (SCIF) leases cost $50-100K/year and take 12 months to activate for new startups

Defense startups working on classified programs must operate from a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), which requires DCSA accreditation taking 8-14 months and costs $50-100K/year in lease premiums, construction requirements (RF shielding, intrusion detection, access control), and compliance overhead. A 10-person startup spending 15% of its Series A on a SCIF before writing a line of classified code is common. This persists because SCIF standards (ICD 705) were designed for permanent government facilities and large defense contractors, not for startup office spaces that may relocate every 18 months as they grow, and DCSA has no expedited accreditation pathway for small businesses.