This NAICS page summarizes 73,216 award actions with 56.06 billion in total obligations and an average action value of 765,666.83. The largest shares of obligated spending are concentrated at the Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, NASA, and the Federal Acquisition Service, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology leading vendors by obligations.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541712 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 5 Years)
Federal procurement activity under NAICS 541712 for research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences (except biotechnology) over the last 5 years.
Annual obligations declined from 14.88 billion in 2021 to 8.20 billion in 2025, while award volume also fell over the same period.
NAICS Code
541712
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)
Total Obligated
56.06 billion
56,059,063,123.68
Award Actions
73,216
Average Action Value
765,666.83
About NAICS 541712 federal contract activity
NAICS 541712 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, excluding biotechnology. Over the last 5 years, FPDS records show 73,216 awards totaling 56.06 billion dollars, with an average award value of 765,666.83 dollars, indicating a large volume of mostly relatively moderate-sized obligations spread across federal R&D requirements.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
Obligations are concentrated in defense and science-intensive civilian agencies. The Department of the Air Force leads with 18.56 billion dollars across 19,516 awards, followed by the Department of the Army at 11.39 billion dollars and NASA at 7.12 billion dollars; the Federal Acquisition Service and the Department of Energy round out the top five, showing that this NAICS is used heavily for both mission support and research programs.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
The vendor base is anchored by major research institutions and specialized technical contractors. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the largest recipient at 6.34 billion dollars, followed by Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC at 4.18 billion dollars and Science Applications International Corporation at 3.86 billion dollars; Jacobs Technology Inc. and Torch Technologies Inc. also appear among the leading performers, reflecting a mix of academic, laboratory, and engineering services providers.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations declined over the period, falling from 14.88 billion dollars in 2021 to 8.20 billion dollars in 2025. Award counts also moved lower from 21,974 to 8,140, which suggests a reduced level of procurement activity rather than a single-year outlier, although 2024 and 2025 remain substantial funding years.
How to interpret this page
This summary is based on FPDS obligations associated with NAICS 541712 over the last 5 years. Metrics are aggregated from reported award records and may reflect modifications, task orders, and other contract actions as captured in FPDS; values are presented as obligated dollars and award counts for the analysis window provided.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 18,563,602,812.42 | 18.56 billion | 19,516 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 11,388,241,944.09 | 11.39 billion | 13,502 |
| 8000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 7,123,085,543.18 | 7.12 billion | 6,549 |
| 4732 | FEDERAL ACQUISITION SERVICE | 5,030,914,020.39 | 5.03 billion | 2,444 |
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 4,185,873,046.76 | 4.19 billion | 278 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 3,463,413,668.82 | 3.46 billion | 8,464 |
| 97JC | MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) | 2,507,097,723.44 | 2.51 billion | 2,516 |
| 7529 | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH | 1,056,880,793.82 | 1.06 billion | 4,674 |
| 9761 | DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY (DTRA) | 1,001,512,927.63 | 1.00 billion | 1,278 |
| 6920 | FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION | 548,830,516.94 | 548.83 million | 937 |
Insight
Obligations in NAICS 541712 are concentrated among defense and science agencies over the last 5 years, with the Department of the Air Force leading at $18.56 billion, followed by the Department of the Army at $11.39 billion and NASA at $7.12 billion. The top three agencies account for more than half of total obligated dollars in this NAICS, indicating a high degree of funding concentration among a small set of buyers. Award volume is also concentrated, led by the Air Force (19,516 awards) and Army (13,502 awards), while DOE stands out for relatively high dollars on only 278 awards, suggesting larger average award values.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 3G050 | 6,342,474,340.04 | 6.34 billion | 1,788 |
| BROOKHAVEN SCIENCE ASSOCIATES, LLC | 4KUZ2 | 4,181,013,359.47 | 4.18 billion | 151 |
| SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION | 6XWA8 | 3,862,462,901.66 | 3.86 billion | 1,604 |
| JACOBS TECHNOLOGY INC. | 7EBK3 | 2,492,557,064.54 | 2.49 billion | 1,302 |
| TORCH TECHNOLOGIES INC | 3CBV3 | 2,155,498,005.42 | 2.16 billion | 1,563 |
| RAYTHEON COMPANY | 15090 | 1,856,231,996.29 | 1.86 billion | 717 |
| AEROJET ROCKETDYNE OF DE, INC | 02602 | 1,798,901,048.19 | 1.80 billion | 91 |
| JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC, THE | 88898 | 1,454,466,479.27 | 1.45 billion | 3,526 |
| ODYSSEY SYSTEMS CONSULTING GROUP, LTD. | 09DF6 | 1,320,722,991.58 | 1.32 billion | 1,442 |
| OASIS SYSTEMS, LLC | 1EDN2 | 1,168,596,770.95 | 1.17 billion | 1,400 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541712 obligated $56.06 billion across 73,216 awards, averaging $765,666.83 per award, indicating a broad but highly specialized R&D market. Top vendor obligations are concentrated among a small set of performers, led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology at $6.34 billion, with Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC at $4.18 billion and Science Applications International Corporation at $3.86 billion. The remaining top vendors each received between $1.17 billion and $2.49 billion, with award counts varying widely, suggesting a mix of high-dollar, lower-volume awards and more distributed, recurring award activity.
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__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,198,504,062.67 | 8.20 billion | 8,140 |
| 2024 | 9,640,190,435.93 | 9.64 billion | 11,681 |
| 2023 | 10,850,996,287.07 | 10.85 billion | 13,290 |
| 2022 | 12,492,272,966.98 | 12.49 billion | 18,131 |
| 2021 | 14,877,099,371.03 | 14.88 billion | 21,974 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, obligations under NAICS 541712 declined steadily from $14.88 billion in 2021 to $8.20 billion in 2025, a cumulative decrease of about 45%. Award volume also fell each year, from 21,974 awards in 2021 to 8,140 in 2025, indicating a broad reduction in both spending and transaction count rather than a shift driven by a small number of large awards. The 5-year total of $56.06 billion across 73,216 awards, with an average award value of $765,666.83, suggests a consistently high-volume R&D procurement base despite the downward trend.
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