This page summarizes 206,383 award actions with $197.09 billion obligated under NAICS 541715. The largest obligations went to the Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, NASA, the Department of the Army, and the Missile Defense Agency, with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Fluor Marine Propulsion, California Institute of Technology, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory among the top vendors.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541715 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 5 Years)
Federal procurement activity for NAICS 541715 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, excluding nanotechnology and biotechnology, over the last five years.
Totals reflect the last five years and are based on readable obligated amounts, annual trend data, and award action counts provided for this NAICS code.
NAICS Code
541715
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)
Total Obligated
197.09 billion
197,087,431,241.67
Award Actions
206,383
Average Action Value
954,959.61
About NAICS 541715 federal contract activity
NAICS 541715 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, excluding nanotechnology and biotechnology. Over the last 5 years, FPDS records show $197.09 billion in obligated value across 206,383 awards, with an average award value of $954,959.61.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
Obligations are concentrated in defense and space-related agencies. The Department of the Air Force leads with $57.66 billion across 63,326 awards, followed by the Department of the Navy at $31.38 billion, NASA at $28.15 billion, the Department of the Army at $19.57 billion, and the Missile Defense Agency at $17.63 billion.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
The vendor base is led by major defense contractors and research institutions. Lockheed Martin Corporation received $23.43 billion across 2,888 awards, Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC received $17.72 billion across 195 awards, and the California Institute of Technology received $12.20 billion across 8,082 awards.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations were highest in 2023 and remained elevated through 2024 and 2025. The series rose from $30.79 billion in 2021 to $35.38 billion in 2022, peaked at $44.21 billion in 2023, then held near that level at $43.82 billion in 2024 and $42.89 billion in 2025.
How to interpret this page
This summary is based on FPDS procurement records for NAICS 541715 over the last 5 years. Totals reflect obligated dollars and award counts aggregated across the analysis period, with annual figures grouped by fiscal year and agency and vendor totals ranked by obligated value.
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 = '541715'
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 | 57,660,941,064.45 | 57.66 billion | 63,326 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 31,384,426,643.84 | 31.38 billion | 32,412 |
| 8000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 28,152,055,383.41 | 28.15 billion | 27,496 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 19,565,513,655.13 | 19.57 billion | 27,733 |
| 97JC | MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) | 17,631,892,554.34 | 17.63 billion | 9,108 |
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 13,904,147,561.81 | 13.90 billion | 785 |
| 7529 | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH | 8,104,170,324.42 | 8.10 billion | 6,278 |
| 97AE | DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) | 5,950,579,370.20 | 5.95 billion | 6,213 |
| 4732 | FEDERAL ACQUISITION SERVICE | 3,869,019,307.31 | 3.87 billion | 2,572 |
| 7505 | OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE | 1,416,937,497.12 | 1.42 billion | 497 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, obligations for NAICS 541715 were highly concentrated among defense and aerospace science agencies, led by the Department of the Air Force ($57.66B), Department of the Navy ($31.38B), NASA ($28.15B), and Department of the Army ($19.57B). The top 10 agencies account for a substantial share of the $197.09B obligated across 206,383 awards, indicating a procurement profile driven by a relatively small number of large-scale R&D buyers. Award volume is notably more distributed than dollars, with agencies such as the Department of Energy and NASA showing large obligations with comparatively fewer awards, consistent with higher-value research contracts.
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 = '541715'
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 03538 | 23,433,911,276.79 | 23.43 billion | 2,888 |
| FLUOR MARINE PROPULSION, LLC | 81QQ2 | 17,716,669,724.17 | 17.72 billion | 195 |
| CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 23835 | 12,201,517,710.82 | 12.20 billion | 8,082 |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | 055W0 | 8,321,516,097.11 | 8.32 billion | 2,095 |
| JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC, THE | 88898 | 6,098,754,950.69 | 6.10 billion | 5,776 |
| THE AEROSPACE CORPORATION | 12782 | 5,972,266,911.55 | 5.97 billion | 1,971 |
| LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, INC. | 3LYK6 | 4,409,927,743.41 | 4.41 billion | 914 |
| THE MITRE CORPORATION | 7L030 | 4,404,367,625.92 | 4.40 billion | 1,926 |
| BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC. | 17038 | 3,298,287,752.77 | 3.30 billion | 3,749 |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | 3BVL8 | 3,118,996,586.37 | 3.12 billion | 135 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541715 obligations total $197.09 billion across 206,383 awards, with an average award value of $954,959.61. Spending is concentrated among a small set of vendors: the top 10 account for $89.68 billion, about 45.5% of total obligations, with LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION leading at $23.43 billion. The vendor mix combines high-volume recipients such as CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY and JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC, with lower-award-count, high-dollar firms such as FLUOR MARINE PROPULSION, LLC and SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP., indicating a distributed but top-heavy award pattern.
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 = '541715'
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 | 42,892,061,157.48 | 42.89 billion | 44,999 |
| 2024 | 43,820,566,823.30 | 43.82 billion | 45,340 |
| 2023 | 44,205,813,849.90 | 44.21 billion | 41,744 |
| 2022 | 35,377,689,125.94 | 35.38 billion | 38,734 |
| 2021 | 30,791,300,285.05 | 30.79 billion | 35,566 |
Insight
Obligations under NAICS 541715 totaled $197.09 billion across the last 5 years, with 206,383 awards and an average award value of $954,959.61, indicating a high-volume category with substantial contract value concentration. Annual obligations increased from $30.79 billion in 2021 to a peak of $44.21 billion in 2023, then remained elevated but relatively stable at $43.82 billion in 2024 and $42.89 billion in 2025. Award counts followed a similar pattern, rising from 35,566 in 2021 to 45,340 in 2024 before moderating slightly to 44,999 in 2025, suggesting sustained demand rather than sharp year-to-year volatility.
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