Secretary of the Navy

The Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy is a defense agency that procures contracts and funds grants across its service branches and research organizations, most prominently the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The agency's procurement portfolio spans from routine supplies and services to specialized research equipment and maritime logistics; its grants program supports university-based basic research aligned with naval and defense priorities.

The Department of the Navy closed 108,930 federal contracts cumulatively since 1995, with combined potential value of $71.33 billion and $59.33 billion obligated to date. Over the last five years, award volume has declined: 3,130 awards in 2023, 3,135 in 2024, 2,926 in 2025, 1,422 in 2026, and 2 recorded award dates in 2027. The most recently recorded award date is in February 2027. The agency transacts heavily through Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Schedule task orders, and below-threshold purchase orders — recent contract opportunities show a predominance of Special Notices for sole-source awards below the simplified acquisition threshold, alongside limited competitive solicitations. Competitive concentration among prime contractors is fragmented; the top five primes by recent award count cover only 15 percent of awards. Patriot Contract Services, LLC leads with 488 awards and $505.2 million combined potential value, followed by Keystone Shipping Services, Inc. (472 awards, $493.6 million) and Tote Services, LLC (457 awards, $489.9 million). By potential value, Crowley Government Services, Inc. ranks highest among the top five at $559 million across 221 awards. The long tail of 17,081 distinct prime contractors indicates a highly dispersed competitive landscape driven by the agency's reliance on small, specialized vendors and OEM sole-source procurements. The set-aside mix is dominated by open competition: 85 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while small-business set-asides account for 13 percent. Other designations—8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB—remain below 1 percent individually.

Recent contract opportunities reflect NRL's research and laboratory-support priorities. Representative active solicitations include Intel Xeon W-3500 Series Tower Workstation (due October 28, 2026, no set-aside, OEM-reseller restricted), 5 Each Linux Storage Servers (due October 30, 2026, Total Small Business set-aside at Stennis Space Center), and Goldeye Camera (due October 21, 2026, Total Small Business set-aside). A substantial share of posted opportunities are Notices of Intent to award sole-source purchases under FAR Part 13 simplified procedures, including Digital Signal Analyzer to Mirion Technologies, Components for Desert Aire Dehumidifier to Internation Technology Group LLC, and Service Agreement for Raith Voyager to Raith America, Inc. — all closing in late October 2026. The dominance of sole-source notices suggests limited competitive opportunity in NRL's current open pipeline; firms seeking engagement should target either small-business set-aside solicitations or vendor-specific opportunities where they hold OEM or authorized-distributor status.

The Department of the Navy awarded 8,962 federal grants cumulatively since 2007, obligating $7.12 billion in federal dollars. Grant volume has declined steadily: 928 awards in 2022, 969 in 2023, 872 in 2024, 604 in 2025, and 299 so far in 2026. The most recent grant award closed in early October 2026. Grant recipients are highly fragmented; the top five recipients by award count cover only 12 percent of recent awards. University of California San Diego leads with 107 awards and $128.7 million federal dollars obligated, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (86 awards, $66.2 million) and Regents of the University of Michigan (82 awards, $52.1 million). By federal dollars, University of California San Diego remains first, with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution second ($82 million across 57 awards) and University of Washington third ($80.7 million across 80 awards). The distribution reflects the agency's research mission; 993 distinct recipients span universities and research institutions nationwide. The assistance-type mix is heavily skewed toward Project Grants, which account for 99 percent of awards, with Cooperative Agreements at 1 percent and minimal Block and Formula Grants.

Recent grant opportunities target university researchers. The Fiscal Year 2027 Department of War Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) solicitation (due April 9, 2027) funds multidisciplinary teams at U.S. universities conducting basic research on complex defense-relevant problems; FFRDCs and industry are ineligible as direct recipients, though they may collaborate. The ONR Young Investigator Program (due October 30, 2026) seeks proposals from early-career faculty with PhDs awarded on or after January 1, 2019, at U.S. institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations. The Fiscal Year 2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) (due November 6, 2026) funds equipment and instrumentation purchases at accredited U.S. universities with science, mathematics, and engineering programs, excluding for-profit institutions and FFRDCs but including University Affiliated Research Centers. All three offerings require applicant institutions to be U.S.-based degree-granting entities or accredited universities; grants support research aligned with Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research priorities.