Optical Sciences, LLC

Optical Sciences, LLC, a small business manufacturer of infrared and optical scene projection hardware, operates as both a prime contractor (46% of recent awards) and subcontractor (54%) across defense and civilian research programs, with the majority of its federal work anchored to the Air Force, Army, and NASA. The company is a subsidiary of Valkyrie Enterprises, LLC, a Virginia Beach–based for-profit manufacturer, and is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Optical Sciences competes primarily in full-and-open procurements under total small business set-asides where applicable; recent awards show no competitive 8(a) or HUBZone designations.

Optical Sciences' prime capability portfolio centers on specialized optical hardware and real-time data analysis systems for advanced propulsion, infrared scene projection, and high-energy laser component testing. Representative prime work includes a $4.98 million single-award indefinite-delivery contract from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (awarded December 1, 2021, with ultimate completion November 30, 2026) for specialized real-time data analysis and system development supporting advanced propulsion systems—on which the company self-performed all reported labor at a government-paid hourly rate around $180.60–$180.64 per hour in FY2023–FY2024 with 2.5–2.6 FTEs. The company also holds an $8 million SBIR Phase III IDIQ with the Air Force (awarded March 10, 2026, running through March 9, 2031) for JSTCS scene projectors, and recently received a $1.54 million delivery order from the Air Force (March 13, 2026) for a DMD-based scene projector with completion by May 15, 2027. A $179,939 SBIR Phase I purchase order from the Air Force Research Laboratory (awarded June 20, 2023) supported broadband optical interface development for high-power laser sources in a cryovacuum chamber.

Customer concentration sits heavily with the Department of the Army (40 awards) and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (7 awards, $36.5 million combined potential value), which together dominate the dollar rankings. The Air Force Materiel Command Test Center (11 awards, $6.7 million) and the Army's Acquisition Support Center PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation directorate (8 awards, $16.2 million) round out the top five. Top five customers account for 77% of awards and 96% of combined potential value. The combined potential value across all 98 awards (prime and sub) sits at $75.5 million, with $71.5 million obligated as of the source date (95% of potential).

Optical Sciences holds task-order positions on several large vehicles. The One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services—Small Business (OASIS SB) vehicle anchors the largest volume, with 35 task orders from the vendor; additional vehicles include Navy indefinite-delivery contracts N0014004D0011 (9 task orders) and N6133905D0001 (6 task orders, $998 thousand potential value), and an Air Force IDIQ FA300213D0011 (3 task orders). The vendor's award distribution across these vehicles shows heavy reliance on Army and Air Force simulation and testing platforms through OASIS SB.

Activity grew substantially year over year from 2021 through 2024 (7 awards in 2021 to 24 in 2024), with a slowdown to 14 awards in 2025 and 2 in the first quarter of 2026. Three awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry $18.1 million in combined potential value and face recompete. SCI-reported invoicing from federal service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totaled $1.9 million across FY2022–FY2024 ($935 thousand in FY2023, $972 thousand in FY2024), reflecting a narrow slice of the vendor's total federal work and excluding all hardware sales, products, and non-service contract revenue.

In its subcontractor role, Optical Sciences delivers infrared projector systems, simulation engineering support, and cryogenic optical design work to primes across Army and Air Force programs. Torch Technologies Inc. is the largest recurring prime customer, with awards spanning Army simulation and integration (S3I) directorate simulation support running from 2021 through 2025. Valkyrie Enterprises, LLC (the parent company) also functions as a prime contractor on related modeling, simulation, and analysis work for missile systems and Defense of Guam programs, with Optical Sciences subcontracting on several of those efforts. Other prime contractors include Radiance Technologies Inc. (directed energy system integration support), Beyond New Horizons, LLC (test operations and sustainment for scene projection systems), and historically American Electronic Warfare Associates and HX5 LLC on infrared projector work.

The vendor's award footprint skews heavily toward research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences (57 awards), with secondary depth in engineering services (16 awards) and optical instrument manufacturing (8 awards). The PSC distribution reflects this mix, with the bulk concentrated in R&D—Defense Other (applied research, exploratory development, and operational systems development) and R&D—Space operations and tracking. Across SCI-reportable prime service contracts, Optical Sciences self-performed 100% of reported labor and hours with no subcontractor teaming, indicating a vertically integrated delivery model on service work captured in the federal SCI database.