Federal award data
Department of Defense: contract awards and competition
What does the Department of Defense buy, and how many bids do its contracts get?
The Department of Defense signed 2,894,702 new contract awards of $25,000 or more in FY2016-FY2026, worth $4068B. 80% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 3 offers; 25% got a single offer. Its most common NAICS code was 325411 (Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing), with 227,513 awards.
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 2,894,702
- Obligated
- $4068B
- Median award
- $72,806
- Median offers
- 3
- Agencies signed about 267,897 new awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 285,782 of them in FY2025.
- The median award was $72,806; 83,645 different companies won at least one award.
- 32% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 90,040 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.
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Awards per fiscal year
New Department of Defense 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 | 260,999 | $388B |
| FY2017 | 266,922 | $410B |
| FY2018 | 288,105 | $404B |
| FY2019 | 273,903 | $394B |
| FY2020 | 256,547 | $407B |
| FY2021 | 243,911 | $368B |
| FY2022 | 253,403 | $356B |
| FY2023 | 269,052 | $448B |
| FY2024 | 280,341 | $395B |
| FY2025 | 285,782 | $297B |
| FY2026* | 215,737 | $202B |
* 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?
80% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 25% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 314,619 (25%) |
| 2 | 202,127 (16%) |
| 3-4 | 346,137 (27%) |
| 5-9 | 211,064 (17%) |
| 10+ | 186,645 (15%) |
1,260,592 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 567,440 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
32% of the 1,261,871 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 854,734 (68%) |
| Small business | 332,703 (26%) |
| 8(a) | 42,613 (3%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 19,549 (2%) |
| Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) | 6,589 (1%) |
| HUBZone | 5,670 (0%) |
| Indian Economic Enterprises (ISBEE) | 12 (0%) |
| Other set-aside | 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 $72,806. 59% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 1,718,487 (59%) |
| $100K-$1M | 923,662 (32%) |
| $1M-$10M | 209,919 (7%) |
| $10M+ | 42,634 (1%) |
What does it buy?
The NAICS codes with the most new awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| 325411 Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing | 227,513 | $35.9B |
| 424210 Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers | 198,982 | $10.6B |
| 336413 Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing | 159,206 | $168B |
| 324110 Petroleum Refineries | 124,945 | $91B |
| 423450 Medical, Dental, and Hospital Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | 96,286 | $9B |
| 311812 Commercial Bakeries | 89,652 | $6.4B |
| 541330 Engineering Services | 76,379 | $323B |
| 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | 69,419 | $170B |
Which parts of it buy?
The components (sub-agencies) that sign the awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Logistics Agency | 1,656,922 | $426B |
| Department of the Navy | 420,362 | $1153B |
| Department of the Army | 379,035 | $1125B |
| Department of the Air Force | 272,122 | $701B |
| Defense Information Systems Agency | 35,746 | $62.2B |
| Ustranscom | 33,490 | $44.6B |
| Defense Contract Management Agency | 31,831 | $221B |
| U.S. Special Operations Command | 18,580 | $41.9B |
Where is the work done?
Awards by place of performance.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 379,753 | $164B |
| California | 303,704 | $355B |
| Virginia | 272,339 | $433B |
| Texas | 174,371 | $495B |
| Florida | 131,159 | $203B |
| Illinois | 124,980 | $69.1B |
| New York | 104,289 | $134B |
| New Jersey | 100,440 | $55.6B |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- (no description)Defense Health Agency, FY2016$51.3B
- Ssn 802 and 803 long lead time materialDepartment of the Navy, FY2017$35.7B
- Lrip lot 12 advance acquisition contractDepartment of the Navy, FY2017$35.1B
- Columbia class design completionDepartment of the Navy, FY2017$31.5B
- The purpose of this modification is to award f-35a lrip 15 usaf aircraft* long lead fundingDepartment of the Navy, FY2020$30.2B
Coming up for re-bid
90,040 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 Department of Defense contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 1,260,592 awards with an offer count). 25% got a single offer and 32% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
What does the Department of Defense buy most?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: NAICS 325411 Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (227,513), NAICS 424210 Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers (198,982), NAICS 336413 Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (159,206), NAICS 324110 Petroleum Refineries (124,945).
How many Department of Defense contracts are set aside for small business?
32% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 26%, 8(a) 3%, Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) 2%. 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.
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