PrimeRFP SCOUT · NAICS Intelligence
5417 — Scientific Research & Development Services
NAICS 541715R&D Services
NAICS 541715 shows $28.5B obligated across 22,885 awards (five-buyer lens) — average award $1.24M (~63 ≥$100K awards per day in scope).
Applied research and development in defense systems, space, energy, biomedical sciences, and national security.
$42.1B
Total Obligated
11,671
Total Awards
$3.6M
Avg Award Value
Oct 2025 – Oct 2026
Data Period
Live SCOUT tools require a subscriber login. New here? Start with the FY27 Sprint.
Year-Over-Year Award Trend
| Year | Awards | Total Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2,742 | $7.0B |
| 2023 | 14,687 | $44.1B |
| 2024 | 15,272 | $43.8B |
| 2025 | 15,128 | $43.7B |
| 2026 | 9,290 | $35.4B |
2026 data through March 2026 only. Source: PrimeRFP SCOUT · ≥$100K floor
Top Agencies by Obligation — NAICS 541715
| Agency | Awards | Total Obligated |
|---|
Top Awardees — NAICS 541715
Trailing 12 months · ≥$100K floor · Source: PrimeRFP SCOUT
| Rank | Awardee | Awards | Total Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lockheed Martin Corporationfamily | 133 | $5.7B |
| #2 | Fluor Enterprises Incorporatedfamily | 12 | $4.3B |
| #3 | California Institute Of Technology | 12 | $2.2B |
| #4 | RTX | 116 | $2.1B |
| #5 | Johns Hopkins University | 12 | $1.8B |
| #6 | Saic, INC.family | 70 | $1.4B |
| #7 | Northrop Grumman Corporationfamily | 124 | $1.3B |
| #8 | The Aerospace | 12 | $1.1B |
| #9 | The Mitre | 12 | $923.8M |
| #10 | Booz Allen Hamilton | 18 | $785.0M |
See all awardees and filter by agency, set-aside, and date in SCOUT.
Score your position in 541715 — FY27 Sprint →SCOUT Market Insights
→NAICS 541715 shows $28.5B obligated across 22,885 awards (five-buyer lens) — average award $1.24M (~63 ≥$100K awards per day in scope).
→Department of Defense leads at $26.1B (20,781 awards); VA ($30.2M), HHS ($926M), GSA ($1.3B) are the next largest buyers.
→Whole-of-government awardee ranking timed out on refresh — use Category/PSC market views for prime-share context; five-buyer totals above are authoritative for the scoped buyer set.
→Calendar trend (full CYs): $33.6B (CY2023) → $33.9B (CY2024) → $33.0B (CY2025).
Frequently Asked Questions — NAICS 541715
What does NAICS 541715 cover?
NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences) covers federal contracts for applied R&D in defense systems, aerospace, nuclear energy, biomedical research, oceanography, and national security technologies. It includes both FFRDC performers and commercial applied R&D firms.
How much does the federal government spend on NAICS 541715?
Across DoD, VA, HHS, GSA, and DHS (five-buyer lens), agencies obligated approximately $28.5B under NAICS 541715 across 22,885 awards in the trailing 12 months (Aug 2025–Aug 2026). Source: PrimeRFP SCOUT, obligations_only, ≥$100K floor.
Can small businesses compete for NAICS 541715 contracts?
Yes. While the top awards are dominated by FFRDCs and large primes, DoD and NASA actively award smaller R&D contracts to mid-tier firms, universities, and SBIR/STTR performers. HHS (NIH) awards 798 contracts — among the most accessible to research firms. NASA SEWP and DoD SBIR/STTR programs are the primary entry points for smaller R&D performers.
What is the average contract value under NAICS 541715?
The average award obligation is $1.18M, but this masks wide variance — nuclear-propulsion and FFRDC contracts run into the billions, while DoD task orders and NASA research awards average much less. For mid-tier firms targeting DoD and NASA applied R&D, typical task order values range from $500K to $50M.
SCOUT Signal
September 2026
Service-disabled veteran-owned contract actions fell 15% at the VA in a single month.
Meanwhile VA's service-disabled veteran-owned contract actions fell 15.3%. The same agency, the same month, the large-vendor lane expanding while the small-business lane contracted. Figures are civilian-agency obligations through 2026-08-31; DoD FPDS for this window is labeled incomplete.
This issue is the whole civilian market. Your capture plan isn't.
SCOUT Intelligence
See the full NAICS 541715 pipeline
Filter recompetes by agency, set-aside type, incumbent, and contract end date. Set alerts for new awards.
Live SCOUT tools require a subscriber login. New here? Start with the FY27 Sprint.
About NAICS 541715
This page will not tell you what the award is doing. But the FY27 Sprint will — start with a free Exposure Check.
Ten Pursuit Analyses sit in a 12-month balance. Delivery is 48 business hours.
No card · under a minute · then the Sprint menu
Use SCOUT in your AI client — $29/moClassify + search inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor
Compare plans