Bihrle Applied Research Inc.

Bihrle Applied Research Inc., a Hampton, Virginia–based small business aeronautical research and development firm, delivers flight dynamics modeling, simulation, and advanced avionics development to the Department of Defense as a prime contractor on Air Force and Navy SBIR and STTR programs, with recent activity concentrated on full-and-open contracts carrying no set-aside designation.

Bihrle operates as a for-profit Subchapter S corporation specializing in flight representative software math models, six-degree-of-freedom flight dynamics simulation, avionics modernization, detect-and-avoid systems, and pilot training support tools for military aviation platforms. The company's primary customer concentration sits with Air Force Materiel Command: the Aeronautical Systems Center dominates potential value with 7 awards worth $14.1 million combined, while the Air Force Research Laboratory commands volume with 38 awards (combined potential value $5.5 million). The Navy Naval Air Systems Command Naval Air Warfare Center contributes 14 awards valued at $3.9 million. NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration round out the top five customer agencies by potential value; Bihrle has worked with 15 distinct federal agencies across the award history. The top five funding entities account for 97% of combined potential value.

Bihrle's recent prime work includes a $2.246 million delivery order from Aeronautical Systems Center for B-52 flight dynamics model analysis (ultimate completion January 2028), a $1.623 million STTR Phase III order for Airborne Warning and Control System avionics replacement (completion February 2027), a $1.063 million delivery order for KC-46 Advanced Training System SimCert flight dynamics support (completion March 2028), and a $950 thousand delivery order under a Basic Ordering Agreement with Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex for six-degree-of-freedom flight dynamics simulation at Tinker Air Force Base (completed June 2025). Earlier Phase III work includes a $3.4 million SBIR delivery order for AWACS avionics modernization (awarded August 2021, completion February 2025) and a $702 thousand SBIR Phase III delivery order supporting the T-7 Advanced Pilot Training program's Global Battlefield Traceability Tool (awarded June 2023, completion June 2025).

Bihrle places task orders under a $5 million Basic Ordering Agreement with Air Force Materiel Command's Aeronautical Systems Center awarded in May 2021 (6 task orders, $10 million combined potential value) and under an Indefinite Delivery Contract F3361598D3601 carrying 22 task orders. Two additional IDCs (FA865006D3624 with 7 task orders and N0042199D1253 with 4 task orders) and a Naval IDC (N0042199D1253) structure smaller work streams. Prime awards account for 90% of the 159 total awards across the portfolio; Bihrle subcontracts to The Boeing Company on P-8A maritime patrol aircraft training systems work (two sub-awards in late 2024 and December 2025).

Activity in recent years has been light — one award each in 2022 and 2023, three in 2024, two in 2025, and two in 2026 — representing a multi-decadal vendor (first award in 1982) with concentrated focus on a narrow customer base and mission area. Three awards with combined potential value of $4.9 million reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating near-term recompete exposure. SCI-reported federal service-contract activity is minimal: one subcontractor record in FY2024 reporting 0.3 FTEs, indicating that Bihrle's federal revenue is captured primarily through research development and engineering delivery orders rather than labor-hour service contracts above the $150,000 SCI reporting threshold.

Aeronautical research, high fidelity air vehicle simulations, low speed wind tunnel testing with precision aircraft models, developer of D-Six multifunction, reconfigurable simulation software for PCs & SimGen for rapid flight model development.