Federal award data, Department of Defense
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: contract awards and competition
What does the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency buy, and how many bids do its contracts get?
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency signed 1,795 new contract awards of $25,000 or more in FY2016-FY2026, worth $11.9B. 79% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 15 offers; 7% got a single offer. Its most common NAICS code was 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)), with 1,053 awards.
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 1,795
- Obligated
- $11.9B
- Median award
- $1.5M
- Median offers
- 15
- Agencies signed about 170 new awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 201 of them in FY2025 (up 31% from FY2016).
- The median award was $1.5M; 595 different companies won at least one award.
- 15% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 245 of these awards reach their potential end date (all options exercised) in the next 12 months, so most of that work comes up for re-bid.
Get new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency solicitations matched to your company
Falkview US watches SAM.gov, checks set-aside eligibility against your UEI and drafts the response. See it on one of your own solicitations in a 30-minute demo.
Awards per fiscal year
New Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awards of $25,000 or more by the fiscal year they were signed (October to September), with the amount obligated on them to date.
| Fiscal year | Awards | Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 154 | $838M |
| FY2017 | 119 | $782M |
| FY2018 | 125 | $646M |
| FY2019 | 129 | $537M |
| FY2020 | 175 | $1.8B |
| FY2021 | 225 | $2.5B |
| FY2022 | 196 | $1.3B |
| FY2023 | 159 | $1B |
| FY2024 | 213 | $1.7B |
| FY2025 | 201 | $797M |
| FY2026* | 99 | $83.1M |
* FY2026 is still filling in: the Department of Defense reports its awards 90 days late. Full years run to FY2025.
How competitive are these contracts?
79% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 15 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 7% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 91 (7%) |
| 2 | 56 (4%) |
| 3-4 | 214 (15%) |
| 5-9 | 193 (14%) |
| 10+ | 836 (60%) |
1,390 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 371 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
15% of the 1,400 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 1,187 (85%) |
| Small business | 204 (15%) |
| 8(a) | 8 (1%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 1 (0%) |
Orders placed under an existing contract vehicle often leave the set-aside blank (it is recorded on the vehicle), so they are left out here.
How big are the awards?
The median award was $1.5M. 6% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 112 (6%) |
| $100K-$1M | 685 (38%) |
| $1M-$10M | 768 (43%) |
| $10M+ | 230 (13%) |
What does it buy?
The NAICS codes with the most new awards.
Where is the work done?
Awards by place of performance.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 360 | $1.4B |
| Virginia | 353 | $3.4B |
| California | 297 | $2.9B |
| Massachusetts | 199 | $830M |
| Texas | 52 | $332M |
| New Jersey | 51 | $309M |
| New York | 44 | $175M |
| Florida | 38 | $172M |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- Multi-network support servicesDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency, FY2021$698M
- Darpa research projectDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency, FY2024$654M
- Darpa research projectDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency, FY2020$387M
- Hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept (hawc) phase 2Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, FY2017$377M
- Hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept (hawc) phase 2Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, FY2016$241M
Coming up for re-bid
245 of these awards reach their potential end date (every option exercised) in the 12 months after November 5, 2026. Agencies usually post the follow-on solicitation, or a sources-sought notice, months before that.
Falkview US watches SAM.gov for the follow-on notices under your NAICS codes, checks set-aside eligibility against your UEI, and drafts the response for your team to review. For janitorial, landscaping and facilities support, the recompete calendar lists the individual contracts.
See how Falkview handles a re-bidQuestions
How many bids do Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 15 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 1,390 awards with an offer count). 7% got a single offer and 74% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
What does the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency buy most?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: NAICS 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (1,053), NAICS 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) (295), NAICS 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (103), NAICS 541714 Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (93).
How many Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contracts are set aside for small business?
15% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 15%, 8(a) 1%, Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) 0%. Orders under existing contract vehicles often leave the field blank, so those are not counted.
Where the numbers come from
Every new federal contract award of $25,000 or more signed from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2026 (FY2016 to FY2026), as reported to USAspending.gov from the Federal Procurement Data System: definitive contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders and BPA calls. Amounts are what has been obligated on each award to date, options and modifications included. Place is the place of performance.
Offer counts are FPDS's “number of offers received” on competed awards. Award recipients are counted but not named here. Pages with fewer than 150 awards (500 for one code in one state) are left out of search engines, because a handful of awards can swing the numbers.
Compiled by Falkview US from public data, updated November 5, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to the page.
Bid on the next one with less work
Falkview US finds SAM.gov solicitations under your NAICS codes, reads the full package, builds the compliance matrix and drafts the proposal from your own documents. Your team reviews and submits.