Industries › NAICS 541715
Industry · NAICS 541715 · sector 54 Professional, scientific and technical services
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
Federal contract obligations classified under NAICS 541715, the organisations that win them and the agencies that award them.
USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026.
Federal agencies obligated $48B in contracts classified under NAICS 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), in FY2025, and $217B over the five fiscal years since FY2022; the industry ranks 3 of 547 on this site.
Obligations were about level on FY2024 ($45B), with $43B so far in FY2026.
The largest recipient organisations over FY2022–FY2025 were Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC ($14B), California Institute of Technology ($9.8B) and Lockheed Martin Corp ($7.2B).
By place of performance, the most money went to CA, VA and MD.
Contract obligations by fiscal year
Compared with the largest industry FY2025
| Measure | This industry | Aircraft Manufacturing | All contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract obligations, FY2025 | $48B | $61B | $779B |
| Five-year total | $217B | $248B | $3.7T |
| Share of all contract obligations, five years | 5.9% | 6.8% | 100% |
Top contractors obligations, FY2022–FY2025
| # | Organisation | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC | $14B |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | $9.8B |
| 3 | Lockheed Martin Corp | $7.2B |
| 4 | The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC | $5.7B |
| 5 | The Aerospace Corporation | $5.2B |
| 6 | Lockheed Martin Corp | $4.3B |
| 7 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $3.9B |
| 8 | The MITRE Corporation | $3.7B |
| 9 | Leidos Biomedical Research Inc | $3.5B |
| 10 | Booz Allen Hamilton Inc | $3.3B |
| 11 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | $2.8B |
| 12 | Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | $2.8B |
| 13 | Hii Mission Technologies Corp | $2.6B |
| 14 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $2.6B |
| 15 | KBR Wyle Services, LLC | $2.5B |
| 16 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | $2.4B |
| 17 | Amentum Technology, Inc. | $2.0B |
| 18 | Parsons Government Services Inc. | $1.8B |
| 19 | Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp | $1.8B |
| 20 | Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC | $1.7B |
| 21 | Blue Origin Washington, LLC | $1.7B |
| 22 | Leidos, Inc. | $1.7B |
| 23 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $1.7B |
| 24 | Mantech TSG-2 Joint Venture | $1.3B |
| 25 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | $1.3B |
Buying agencies $1.0M+ awards
Where the work is performed
Largest awards since FY2022
Other industries in sector 54: Professional, scientific and technical services
- 541330 Engineering Services $239B
- 541512 Computer Systems Design Services $157B
- 541519 Other Computer Related Services $122B
- 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services $63B
- 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services $63B
- 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services $52B
- 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) $50B
- 541710 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences $46B
- 541513 Computer Facilities Management Services $16B
- 541714 Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) $15B
- 541614 Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services $13B
- 541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services $11B
- 541810 Advertising Agencies $7.6B
- 541620 Environmental Consulting Services $6.3B
- 541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants $6.0B
- 541711 Research and Development in Biotechnology $5.6B
- 541720 Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities $5.2B
- 541310 Architectural Services $4.9B
- 541612 Human Resources Consulting Services $4.2B
- 541618 Other Management Consulting Services $4.1B
- 541219 Other Accounting Services $3.8B
- 541380 Testing Laboratories and Services $3.0B
- 541199 All Other Legal Services $2.8B
- 541930 Translation and Interpretation Services $2.0B
Questions and answers
How much does the federal government spend on NAICS 541715?
$48B in contract obligations classified under Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) in FY2025, $217B over the five fiscal years since FY2022. Obligations are commitments, not payments.
Who are the top contractors in Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)?
Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC ($14B), California Institute of Technology ($9.8B), Lockheed Martin Corp ($7.2B), The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC ($5.7B), The Aerospace Corporation ($5.2B), by contract obligations over FY2022–FY2025.
Which agencies buy in this industry?
By the value of $1.0M-plus contracts since FY2022: Department of Defense ($81B), National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($9.4B), Department of Health and Human Services ($5.9B), General Services Administration ($3.8B), Department of Energy ($3.0B).
What is a NAICS code?
In USAspending's words: "NAICS stands for the North American Industrial Classification System. This 6-digit code tells you what industry the work falls into. Each contract record has a NAICS code." Assistance awards (grants, loans, direct payments) carry no NAICS code and are not counted here.
Provenance
Source: USAspending.gov API v2, spending by category (NAICS) by fiscal year, recipient cross-tabulation for FY2022–FY2025 and award search, loaded 30 Sep 2026. State figures come from each state's top-100 NAICS list, so small amounts in a state may be missing. See methodology.