Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DARPA funds ambitious research aimed at creating and preventing technological surprise in support of national security.
Total Obligations
$1.7B
Nov 5, 2025 through Nov 4, 2026
Federal Data
Last refreshed Nov 4, 2026
Headquarters
Arlington, Virginia
Paper Trail Research
What This Agency Does
Created in response to the strategic shock of Sputnik, DARPA manages a changing portfolio of advanced research programs rather than operating its own laboratories. Program managers work with universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, government laboratories, and other performers to test concepts and transition promising technologies. Its technical offices cover biological technologies, defense sciences, information processing, multi-domain systems, strategic technology, and tactical technology.
Why It Matters
DARPA can direct substantial public funding toward emerging technologies before they become established military programs or widely used commercial tools. Following its awards helps show which research areas, institutions, and companies are receiving early federal investment and how experimental work may move into broader defense use.
Federal Data
Spending Over Time
Federal Data
Spending By Award Type
| Rank | Award Type | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contracts | $1,260,836,674 | 75.3% |
| 2 | Other assistance | $295,030,928 | 17.6% |
| 3 | Grants | $117,502,229 | 7.0% |
| 4 | Direct payments | $0 | 0.0% |
| 5 | Loans | $0 | 0.0% |
Federal Data
Top Recipients
| Rank | Recipient | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATIONUEI LXKGXB75YKY6 | $246,177,875 | 14.7% |
| 2 | THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLCUEI C1HBCJ9RMBV3 | $192,517,000 | 11.5% |
| 3 | SECURIGENCE LLCUEI Q56SJRTSJSE4 | $147,000,171 | 8.8% |
| 4 | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINUEI V6AFQPN18437 | $129,258,322 | 7.7% |
| 5 | SCHAFER GOVERNMENT SERVICES, LLCUEI QVLFZJZZEXB6 | $47,725,754 | 2.9% |
| 6 | STRATEGIC ANALYSIS, INC.UEI CNFXLNJH4JH8 | $43,514,615 | 2.6% |
| 7 | ECS FEDERAL, LLCUEI XYB4JU4PA6T4 | $38,207,519 | 2.3% |
| 8 | SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH LLCUEI SA7ZWUEM9RG4 | $37,489,939 | 2.2% |
| 9 | SYSTEM HIGH CORPORATIONUEI L6ALJCC5JF13 | $31,199,512 | 1.9% |
| 10 | HRL LABORATORIES, LLCUEI CCBKQV2MBMV6 | $26,109,907 | 1.6% |
| 11 | RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INCUEI YXRLX5PDCWK4 | $25,666,945 | 1.5% |
| 12 | SRCCO INC.UEI JUWFFCMRQ687 | $24,665,137 | 1.5% |
| 13 | RTX BBN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.UEI JAXJSTJJSP74 | $20,804,451 | 1.2% |
| 14 | BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INCUEI JCBMLGPE6Z71 | $20,027,274 | 1.2% |
| 15 | SYSTEMS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, INC.UEI TRE8LWVNNXL3 | $18,867,357 | 1.1% |
| 16 | WILDSTAR LLCUEI PQ43JXNLXCY4 | $18,750,000 | 1.1% |
| 17 | SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTEUEI PB11V1KH3KV4 | $18,494,227 | 1.1% |
| 18 | TELEDYNE SCIENTIFIC & IMAGING, LLCUEI WQKMXY9FRUC5 | $17,611,425 | 1.1% |
| 19 | NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATIONUEI VSBAFMDKTWL4 | $17,319,686 | 1.0% |
| 20 | GUIDEHOUSE INC.UEI N9NJK877QJK9 | $16,543,867 | 1.0% |
Federal Data
Top Subagencies And Offices
| Rank | Subagency / Office | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Defense Advanced Research Projects AgencyDARPA | $1,673,369,831 | 100.0% |
Federal Data
Top Spending Categories
| Rank | Category | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENTPSC · AC13 | $426,726,851 | 25.5% |
| 2 | Research and Technology DevelopmentAssistance Listing · 12.910 | $393,177,168 | 23.5% |
| 3 | SUPPORT- PROFESSIONAL: OTHERPSC · R499 | $232,060,115 | 13.9% |
| 4 | NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; BASIC RESEARCHPSC · AC11 | $195,054,184 | 11.7% |
| 5 | NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; APPLIED RESEARCHPSC · AC12 | $148,629,310 | 8.9% |
| 6 | IT AND TELECOM- FACILITY OPERATION AND MAINTENANCEPSC · D301 | $147,000,171 | 8.8% |
| 7 | NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SVCS; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; R&D FACILITIES & MAJ EQUIPPSC · AC15 | $22,226,296 | 1.3% |
| 8 | Science, Technology, Business and/or Education OutreachAssistance Listing · 11.620 | $18,011,991 | 1.1% |
| 9 | SPECIAL STUDIES/ANALYSIS- DEFENSEPSC · B541 | $17,088,347 | 1.0% |
| 10 | IT AND TELECOM - OTHER DATA CENTER FACILITIES PRODUCTS (HARDWARE AND PERPETUAL LICENSE SOFTWARE)PSC · 7C21 | $10,344,648 | 0.6% |
| 11 | SUPPORT- PROFESSIONAL: PHYSICAL SECURITY AND BADGINGPSC · R430 | $9,671,626 | 0.6% |
| 12 | R&D- DEFENSE OTHER: OTHER (ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT)PSC · AD93 | $8,255,965 | 0.5% |
| 13 | IT AND TELECOM - STORAGE PRODUCTS (HARDWARE AND PERPETUAL LICENSE SOFTWARE)PSC · 7K20 | $7,301,216 | 0.4% |
| 14 | IT AND TELECOM - IT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES (LABOR)PSC · DF01 | $7,148,079 | 0.4% |
| 15 | IT AND TELECOM - BUSINESS APPLICATION/APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT SERVICES (LABOR)PSC · DA01 | $6,168,493 | 0.4% |
| 16 | IT AND TELECOM - COMPUTE AS A SERVICE: MAINFRAME/SERVERSPSC · DB10 | $5,935,672 | 0.4% |
| 17 | AGRICULTURE R&D SERVICES; AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES; EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENTPSC · AA13 | $4,600,000 | 0.3% |
| 18 | Research and DevelopmentAssistance Listing · 64.054 | $612,734 | 0.0% |
| 19 | Marine Education and TrainingAssistance Listing · 11.455 | $508,428 | 0.0% |
| 20 | Procurement Technical Assistance For Business FirmsAssistance Listing · 12.002 | $222,836 | 0.0% |
Federal Data · Geography Preview
Spending By State
| Rank | State | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VirginiaVA | $492,266,644 | 29.4% |
| 2 | CaliforniaCA | $405,143,056 | 24.2% |
| 3 | MarylandMD | $230,966,584 | 13.8% |
| 4 | TexasTX | $183,036,392 | 10.9% |
| 5 | MassachusettsMA | $109,843,115 | 6.6% |
| 6 | AlabamaAL | $28,012,307 | 1.7% |
| 7 | North CarolinaNC | $27,793,033 | 1.7% |
| 8 | New YorkNY | $21,893,599 | 1.3% |
| 9 | ConnecticutCT | $21,148,367 | 1.3% |
| 10 | OhioOH | $15,761,936 | 0.9% |
| 11 | PennsylvaniaPA | $15,155,164 | 0.9% |
| 12 | New JerseyNJ | $13,529,824 | 0.8% |
| 13 | IndianaIN | $10,804,265 | 0.6% |
| 14 | MissouriMO | $10,525,662 | 0.6% |
| 15 | IllinoisIL | $10,247,382 | 0.6% |
| 16 | MichiganMI | $9,943,737 | 0.6% |
| 17 | ColoradoCO | $8,173,239 | 0.5% |
| 18 | WashingtonWA | $8,113,569 | 0.5% |
| 19 | New HampshireNH | $7,456,215 | 0.4% |
| 20 | ArizonaAZ | $6,273,421 | 0.4% |
| 21 | GeorgiaGA | $6,148,727 | 0.4% |
| 22 | KansasKS | $4,285,867 | 0.3% |
| 23 | FloridaFL | $3,850,366 | 0.2% |
| 24 | IowaIA | $2,765,241 | 0.2% |
| 25 | New MexicoNM | $2,511,763 | 0.2% |
| 26 | TennesseeTN | $1,595,691 | 0.1% |
| 27 | OregonOR | $1,536,874 | 0.1% |
| 28 | UtahUT | $1,227,950 | 0.1% |
| 29 | VermontVT | $1,150,000 | 0.1% |
| 30 | MississippiMS | $850,000 | 0.1% |
| 31 | MinnesotaMN | $824,168 | 0.0% |
| 32 | IdahoID | $649,992 | 0.0% |
| 33 | Rhode IslandRI | $559,159 | 0.0% |
| 34 | District Of ColumbiaDC | $306,648 | 0.0% |
| 35 | KentuckyKY | $257,520 | 0.0% |
| 36 | DelawareDE | $0 | 0.0% |
| 37 | LouisianaLA | $0 | 0.0% |
| 38 | West VirginiaWV | $0 | 0.0% |
| 39 | OklahomaOK | -$2,871 | -0.0% |
| 40 | WisconsinWI | -$52,877 | -0.0% |
| 41 | South CarolinaSC | -$62,202 | -0.0% |
| 42 | HawaiiHI | -$77,997 | -0.0% |
Paper Trail Research
Methodology And Research Notes
Federal spending totals use prime-award transactions where USAspending identifies Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as the awarding subagency under the Department of Defense. These award obligations are distinct from DARPA budget authority and from amounts later spent by performers.
DARPA does not operate its own research laboratories; much of its work is performed by external organizations under contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other award instruments.
Documentation
Sources And Transparency
Obligations are commitments by the federal government to spend money. They are not necessarily cash already paid to a recipient.
- DARPA — About and Mission ↗
Official agency description, mission, history, operating model, and technical-office overview.
- USAspending.gov — DARPA award data ↗
Prime-award transactions filtered to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarding subagency under the Department of Defense.
- Federal Data Last Updated
- Nov 4, 2026
- Research Last Reviewed
- Aug 24, 2026