Atmospheric & Environmental Research Inc.

Atmospheric & Environmental Research Inc., a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, Inc., delivers atmospheric and Earth sciences research, climate modeling, satellite data analysis, and advanced sensing technology development to federal agencies as a prime recipient on federal research grants (96% of recent awards) and as a subcontractor on defense sustainment services. AER competes full-and-open without SBA set-asides, operating from headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts, with primary NAICS framing around physical, engineering, and life sciences R&D (NAICS 541712) and custom computer programming services (NAICS 541511).

AER's customer base spans 35 federal agencies, with pronounced concentration in civilian research funding. The Department of the Air Force anchors 148 awards, though the dollar concentration diverges sharply — Air Force Research Laboratory accounts for 14 awards worth $67.1 million combined potential value, while the broader Air Force total spans research contracts for space weather data compression, machine learning applications, and battlespace identification. NASA dominates the grant footprint: NASA Shared Services Center carries 66 grants worth $17.7 million combined potential value, with awards focused on satellite-derived Earth science research (carbon dioxide tracking via Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions, Arctic sea ice dynamics via ICESat-2, ocean circulation analysis, cloud radiative effects using CloudSat and CALIPSO, and hail process dynamics). NASA Headquarters contributes 29 awards worth $14.3 million. NOAA accounts for 55 awards with $1.1 million combined potential value, emphasizing carbon tracking services (CarbonTracker-Lagrange modeling framework) and collaborative atmospheric research. NSF and DOE round out the civilian science customer set. Recent representative prime awards include a $2.999 million Air Force Research Laboratory definitive contract for rapid battlespace identification modeling (July 2026, ultimate completion July 2027), a $4.403 million NASA Shared Services Center grant for ultra-compact infrared sensor development (January 2022, completion May 2025), a $683 thousand NASA grant on ocean bottom pressure dynamics (May 2024, completion May 2028), and a $563 thousand NSF project grant on seasonal cycle variability in sea level (April 2023, completion March 2026).

AER operates across multiple parent vehicles. The top two IDIQs are Indefinite Delivery Contract 1332KP23DNAAA0003 (16 task orders) and F1962883C0027 (7 task orders). AER also holds a position on the Federal Supply Schedule GS35F0055L (10 task orders, $1.7 million combined potential value) and several Air Force Research Laboratory IDIQs (F1962886C0141 with 6 task orders, F1962884C0134 with 4 task orders).

Recent activity has declined from a peak of 24 awards in 2022 to 7 in 2025 and 1 in 2026 (year-to-date as of July 15, 2026). Thirteen awards with combined potential value of $4.5 million face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure across climate science, sensing, and atmospheric modeling programs.

AER's subcontractor footprint reflects its role as a specialized research provider feeding defense sustainment programs. L3Harris Technologies, Inc., is the dominant prime, with AER delivering sustainment services across multiple task orders for ground systems and mission operations (GSMO) beginning in 2022 and running through at least 2025, including key personnel support and performance work statement updates. A single KBR Wyle Services sub-award (July 2022) covered ground systems and mission operations software engineering. Across SCI-reportable service contracts, AER shows minimal federal services capture: 3 records total covering FY2022–FY2024, with 2.8 FTEs reported as a subcontractor in FY2024, indicating that AER's federal footprint skews heavily toward research grants and contract R&D rather than labor-intensive services delivery.

AER's grant sub-award activity reflects collaborative research partnerships with academic institutions. The vendor subcontracts to University of Maryland Baltimore County (May 2025) for climate trend analysis and satellite sounding applications, Colorado State University (May and April 2025) for ammonia retrieval and transport analysis using satellite data, University of Miami (November 2024) for ocean surface wind data assimilation using CYGNSS observations, and the Smithsonian Institution (November 2023) for spectroscopy standards supporting NASA remote-sensing missions. This pattern signals AER's role as a research support subcontractor to university-led Earth science initiatives, leveraging its satellite data analysis and modeling expertise.