PrimeRFP SCOUT · Industry Intelligence
Research & Development Federal Contracts
Under OMB Category: R&D, federal obligations totaled $33.0B across 28,869 contracts in the trailing 12 months (2025-04-29 → 2026-03-04), with an average award of $1.1M.
This page uses a Category-led market view as the headline and a NAICS-based companion view for firm-classification analysis — see below.
$33.0B
12-Mo Obligations (Headline)
28,869
Contracts (12-Mo)
$1.1M
Avg Award Size
$48.2B
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: $33.0B · 28,869 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: $48.2B · 35,469 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 $400M 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 (2025-04-29 → 2026-03-04)
- 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
- 2025-04-28
- Last refreshed
- 2026-04-22
Top Agencies in Research & Development
| Rank | Agency | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Department of Defense | $24.1B |
| #2 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $7.0B |
| #3 | General Services Administration | $942.4M |
| #4 | Department of Energy | $400.8M |
| #5 | Department of Health and Human Services | $142.5M |
12-month aggregate · Scope: Category · R&D · PrimeRFP SCOUT
Top Research & Development Contractors
| Rank | Contractor | Awards | Total Obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | 657 | $5.2B |
| #2 | California Institute of Technology (JPL) | 1,312 | $1.8B |
| #3 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | 498 | $1.7B |
| #4 | Raytheon Company | 477 | $1.3B |
| #5 | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC | 1,020 | $1.0B |
12-month aggregate, top 5 shown · Scope: Category · R&D · PrimeRFP SCOUT
Emerging Competitors (Rank 6–10)
| Rank | Contractor | Awards | Total Obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Blue Origin LLC | 13 | $723.0M |
| #7 | Boeing Company | 160 | $680.7M |
| #8 | Bell Textron Inc. | 35 | $655.2M |
| #9 | Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. | 514 | $627.5M |
| #10 | The Boeing Company | 128 | $585.5M |
Market Intelligence — Research & Development
$33.04B obligated across 28,869 R&D contracts in the trailing 12 months. DoD dominates at $24.1B (73% of category), followed by NASA at $6.95B (21%) — together ~94% of all R&D category obligations.
Lockheed Martin is the #1 R&D awardee at $5.2B across 657 contracts — primarily defense advanced technology (hypersonics, missile defense, space systems). Northrop Grumman ($1.7B) and Raytheon ($1.26B) round out the top defense R&D primes.
The NAICS 5417 companion view ($48.21B / 35,469 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 (1,312 contracts / $1.79B) and JHU APL (1,020 / $1.01B) 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 $33.04B across 28,869 contracts in the trailing 12 months (2025-04-29 → 2026-03-04). DoD leads at $24.1B, NASA follows at $6.95B — together 94% of all R&D category obligations. The NAICS 5417 companion (firms classified as Scientific R&D service providers) totals $48.21B. 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 $400M 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 ($5.2B / 657 contracts), Caltech/JPL ($1.79B / 1,312 contracts), Northrop Grumman ($1.7B / 498), Raytheon ($1.26B / 477), and JHU APL ($1.01B / 1,020) 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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