This page summarizes DARPA procurement activity over the last 10 years, covering $13.37 billion in obligated spending across 14,782 award actions, with an average action value of $904,471.36. The profile highlights annual obligation trends, leading vendors, and the NAICS categories most often used for DARPA awards.
Federal Agency
DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) Federal Contract Obligations (Last 10 Years)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) federal procurement profile for the last 10 years, summarizing obligations, award activity, vendors, and NAICS patterns.
Amounts reflect obligated dollars within the stated analysis window and may not align to a single fiscal-year total because of timing, modification, and reporting effects.
Agency ID
97AE
Total Obligated
13.37 billion
13,369,895,762.23
Award Actions
14,782
Average Action Value
904,471.36
About DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) federal contract activity
Over the last 10 years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) obligated $13.37 billion across 14,782 awards, for an average award value of $904,471.36. This profile is consistent with an agency that issues a high volume of research-focused awards, with spending concentrated in science and technology development rather than large-scale production contracts.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
DARPA’s vendor base is led by established defense and research organizations, with LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION at $1.75 billion across 657 awards and RAYTHEON COMPANY at $995.69 million across 611 awards. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC, THE, NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION, and SECURIGENCE LLC also appear among the top recipients, indicating a mix of major defense contractors, applied research institutions, and specialized firms.
Industry profile based on NAICS activity
Obligations are heavily concentrated in research and development NAICS categories. NAICS 541715 alone accounts for $7.49 billion and 7,802 awards, followed by NAICS 541712 at $2.58 billion and 3,732 awards, showing that DARPA’s portfolio is dominated by experimental R&D in the physical, engineering, and life sciences.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations in the available recent years remain in a relatively narrow band, ranging from $1.52 billion in 2021 to $1.87 billion in 2023. Award counts also stay elevated year to year, with 1,491 awards in 2021 and 1,893 in 2024, indicating sustained procurement activity rather than a single peak year.
How to interpret this page
This page summarizes FPDS obligations for agency ID 97AE over the last 10 years and uses obligated dollars, award counts, and average award values as reported in the dataset. Vendor, NAICS, and annual trend sections reflect the highest-obligation entries within the provided analysis window and should be interpreted as concentration indicators, not a complete ranking of all activity.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID = '97AE'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 1,753,885,004.61 | 1.75 billion | 657 |
| RAYTHEON COMPANY | 995,690,897.30 | 995.69 million | 611 |
| JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC, THE | 892,200,973.79 | 892.20 million | 1,375 |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | 701,004,442.76 | 701.00 million | 756 |
| SECURIGENCE LLC | 596,868,940.04 | 596.87 million | 74 |
| BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC. | 405,292,038.70 | 405.29 million | 276 |
| AURORA FLIGHT SCIENCES CORPORATION | 291,693,999.66 | 291.69 million | 107 |
| SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH LLC | 290,601,466.39 | 290.60 million | 309 |
| SRI INTERNATIONAL | 274,597,851.00 | 274.60 million | 485 |
| SYSTEM HIGH CORPORATION | 252,274,186.37 | 252.27 million | 74 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, DARPA obligated $13.37 billion across 14,782 awards, with an average award value of $904,471. Obligations are concentrated among a small set of vendors, led by Lockheed Martin Corporation at $1.75 billion, followed by Raytheon Company and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC; the top 10 vendors together account for a substantial share of total obligations. The vendor mix spans large defense contractors, a research university-affiliated laboratory, and specialized firms, indicating a diversified but still concentrated portfolio of awards.
Top NAICS
SELECT
naics_code,
naics_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode AS naics_code,
anyHeavy(content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description) AS naics_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID = '97AE'
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY naics_code
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| NAICS Code | Description | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 541715 | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY) | 7,485,035,702.19 | 7.49 billion | 7,802 |
| 541712 | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY) | 2,575,984,906.25 | 2.58 billion | 3,732 |
| 541990 | ALL OTHER PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND TECHNICAL SERVICES | 898,799,065.32 | 898.80 million | 668 |
| 541511 | CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES | 597,618,647.79 | 597.62 million | 79 |
| 541714 | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (EXCEPT NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY) | 349,158,702.86 | 349.16 million | 589 |
| 541512 | COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES | 210,248,619.51 | 210.25 million | 76 |
| 541519 | OTHER COMPUTER RELATED SERVICES | 187,708,132.25 | 187.71 million | 225 |
| 541513 | COMPUTER FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES | 184,403,972.90 | 184.40 million | 70 |
| 541690 | OTHER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CONSULTING SERVICES | 146,817,184.64 | 146.82 million | 83 |
| 541330 | ENGINEERING SERVICES | 146,007,605.89 | 146.01 million | 228 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, DARPA obligations were highly concentrated in R&D NAICS codes, led by 541715 at 7.49 billion across 7,802 awards and 541712 at 2.58 billion across 3,732 awards. Together, these two codes account for roughly 75% of total obligated dollars, indicating a strong emphasis on research and development activities. The remaining top NAICS are more fragmented, with smaller dollar shares spread across scientific/technical services, software, systems design, and related support functions.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID = '97AE'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,720,834,187.40 | 1.72 billion | 1,734 |
| 2024 | 1,679,167,688.59 | 1.68 billion | 1,893 |
| 2023 | 1,874,877,510.76 | 1.87 billion | 1,653 |
| 2022 | 1,712,288,643.73 | 1.71 billion | 1,793 |
| 2021 | 1,521,006,304.28 | 1.52 billion | 1,491 |
| 2020 | 1,337,168,861.85 | 1.34 billion | 1,253 |
| 2019 | 788,870,432.86 | 788.87 million | 1,156 |
| 2018 | 979,871,393.58 | 979.87 million | 1,404 |
| 2017 | 821,121,835.92 | 821.12 million | 1,155 |
| 2016 | 934,688,903.26 | 934.69 million | 1,250 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, DARPA obligated $13.37 billion across 14,782 awards, averaging $904.5 thousand per award. Obligations were concentrated in the most recent four years, each at roughly $1.52 billion to $1.87 billion, compared with sub-$1.0 billion levels in 2016–2019. Award volume generally tracked obligations, with annual counts ranging from 1,155 to 1,893 and the highest activity occurring in 2024 and 2022.
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