PrimeRFP SCOUT · Industry Intelligence
Research & Development Federal Contracts
Under OMB Category: R&D, federal obligations totaled $37.3B across 30,142 contracts in the trailing 12 months (2025-05-27 → 2026-04-23), with an average award of $1.2M.
This page uses a Category-led market view as the headline and a NAICS-based companion view for firm-classification analysis — see below.
$37.3B
12-Mo Obligations (Headline)
30,142
Contracts (12-Mo)
$1.2M
Avg Award Size
$51.2B
NAICS Companion (NAICS 5417)
How this market is scoped
Headline view — Market
OMB Category: R&D
OMB Category Management definition — PSC-based. The authoritative federal taxonomy for this market.
Obligated: $37.3B · 30,142 contracts
Companion view — Firm classification
NAICS 5417 — Scientific Research & Development Services firms
NAICS describes a seller's industry classification — not what was bought. Use this view for firm-set analysis, not market sizing.
Obligated: $51.2B · 36,931 contracts
NAICS 5417 captures awards to firms classified as Scientific R&D service providers. The NAICS 5417 total is larger than the R&D Category total because many 5417-classified firms win work under other PSCs (engineering services, testing, management support) that are not classified as R&D in the OMB Category taxonomy. This companion view is useful for R&D firm-set analysis but is not the authoritative R&D market size.
Scope note: OMB R&D Category corresponds to PSC A-series codes (A-grouping covers R&D services and products across basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development).
Scope note: DOE's $494M here is substantially lower than DOE's federal R&D commitment — DOE funds national-lab research through M&O contracts classified under Facilities & Construction or as cooperative agreements, not under the OMB R&D Category for contracts.
Data filters — reconstructible in USASpending
Every figure on this page is derived from the following filter set, applied to federal award data. Because SCOUT is a USASpending-derived extract, any number here can be reconstructed in USASpending Advanced Search using the scope label above plus these filters.
- Scope
- OMB Category: R&D
- Time window
- Trailing 12 months (2025-05-27 → 2026-04-23)
- Min award
- ≥ $100,000 per transaction
- Transaction type
- Obligations only (federal_action_obligation). IDIQ/IDV base vehicles excluded.
- Year type
- calendar
- Data source
- PrimeRFP SCOUT (USASpending-derived extract)
- Since date
- 2025-05-26
- Last refreshed
- 2026-05-20
Top Agencies in Research & Development
| Rank | Agency | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Department of Defense | $27.3B |
| #2 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $7.8B |
| #3 | General Services Administration | $1.1B |
| #4 | Department of Energy | $494.2M |
| #5 | Department of Health and Human Services | $138.8M |
12-month aggregate · Scope: Category · R&D · PrimeRFP SCOUT
Top Research & Development Contractors
| Rank | Contractor | Awards | Total Obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | 721 | $5.3B |
| #2 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | 526 | $2.7B |
| #3 | California Institute of Technology (JPL) | 1,392 | $2.2B |
| #4 | Raytheon Company | 511 | $1.3B |
| #5 | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC | 1,011 | $1.2B |
12-month aggregate, top 5 shown · Scope: Category · R&D · PrimeRFP SCOUT
Emerging Competitors (Rank 6–10)
| Rank | Contractor | Awards | Total Obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Bell Textron Inc. | 37 | $1.1B |
| #7 | The Boeing Company | 184 | $745.4M |
| #8 | Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. | 556 | $744.3M |
| #9 | Blue Origin LLC | 15 | $724.5M |
| #10 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 309 | $666.1M |
Market Intelligence — Research & Development
$37.31B obligated across 30,142 R&D contracts in the trailing 12 months. DoD dominates at $27.3B (73% of category), followed by NASA at $7.82B (21%) — together ~94% of all R&D category obligations.
Lockheed Martin is the #1 R&D awardee at $5.3B across 721 contracts — primarily defense advanced technology (hypersonics, missile defense, space systems). Northrop Grumman ($2.7B) and Caltech/JPL ($2.19B) round out the top of the table.
The NAICS 5417 companion view ($51.20B / 36,931 awards) is larger because 5417-classified firms win engineering and technical-services task orders classified outside the R&D category. For R&D firm-set analysis, use NAICS; for R&D market sizing, use Category.
Highly distributed small-contract competition exists — Caltech/JPL (1,392 contracts / $2.19B) and JHU APL (1,011 / $1.15B) reflect the NASA and DoD applied-research task-order markets, accessible to specialty mid-tier R&D performers via subawards.
Frequently Asked Questions — Research & Development
How much federal R&D contracting is there?
Under OMB R&D Category, federal obligations reached $37.31B across 30,142 contracts in the trailing 12 months (2025-05-27 → 2026-04-23). DoD leads at $27.3B, NASA follows at $7.82B — together 94% of all R&D category obligations. The NAICS 5417 companion (firms classified as Scientific R&D service providers) totals $51.20B. Source: PrimeRFP SCOUT · obligations only · ≥$100K · calendar-year basis.
Where does DOE research spending show up?
DOE's contract-level obligations in the R&D Category are only $494M in the 12-month window, far below DOE's actual R&D commitment. That's because most DOE research is executed through national-laboratory M&O contracts (classified under Facilities & Construction in OMB Category Management) and via cooperative agreements — neither of which appears in the R&D contract category. For the DOE national-lab facility view, see the Construction & Infrastructure page.
What are the largest R&D awards?
Lockheed Martin ($5.3B / 721 contracts), Northrop Grumman ($2.7B / 526), Caltech/JPL ($2.19B / 1,392 contracts), Raytheon ($1.34B / 511), and JHU APL ($1.15B / 1,011) lead the awardee table. The top defense R&D awards concentrate in advanced missile and space systems; NASA R&D is more distributed across university and FFRDC performers.
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