Systems & Technology Research LLC

Systems & Technology Research LLC, doing business as STR, is a Woburn, Massachusetts-based defense contractor that provides advanced research, engineering, and software development services for national security applications as a prime contractor (82% of awards) and selective subcontractor, competing without set-aside restrictions across full-and-open defense R&D procurements. STR is a for-profit limited liability company specializing in artificial intelligence, wireless communications, electronic warfare, autonomy, machine learning, sensor processing, and cybersecurity across air, ground, maritime, space, and cyber operational domains, with a federal award footprint exceeding $50.9 billion in combined potential value across 389 awards since 2011.

STR's customer concentration reflects a defense R&D posture. DARPA is the dominant customer by award count (121 awards, $816.1 million combined potential value), followed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (103 awards, $332.8 million), the Army Research Development and Engineering Command (39 awards, $59.6 million), and Naval Air Systems Command and Office of Naval Research (34 and 26 awards, $25.2 million and $137 million respectively). The top five customers account for 83% of awards. By dollars, however, the Air Force (including AECOM and air education and training) dominates with $1.04 billion and $1 billion respectively, alongside the Air Force Materiel Command Aeronautical Systems Center at $902.3 million—illustrating a tension between DARPA's volume (many mid-size awards) and Air Force strategic vehicles (fewer, larger awards). STR holds a position on the Eglin Wide Agile Acquisition Contract (EWAAC), a $46 billion multiple-award IDIQ for weapons system modernization and rapid prototyping, from which it has executed task orders including a $582 thousand survivability modeling delivery order for the Long Range Stand Off cruise missile. The company also seats on the $151 billion Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) IDIQ awarded by the Missile Defense Agency in December 2025 for multi-domain defense capabilities, as well as multiple DARPA Other Transaction vehicles including SCORPIONFISH ($12.5 million ceiling), LELANTOS ($6.6 million), ALBATROSS ($11 million), and others ranging from $2 million to $10 million, enabling rapid procurement of specialized R&D services. STR also holds a $900 million Cyber IDIQ with Air Education and Training Command and a $249 million Basic Ordering Agreement with the Office of the Secretary of Defense for AI data readiness support through the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Recent activity accelerated sharply, growing from 19 awards in 2022 to 62 in 2024, with 26 awards in 2025 and 5 recorded through mid-2026. This trajectory reflects STR's deepening entrenchment in DARPA and Air Force research portfolios. However, 27 awards with combined potential value of $483.7 million face completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore present recompete risk or opportunity depending on competitive position.

STR's capability portfolio centers on applied research and exploratory development contracts (top NAICS 541710 — Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences) with representative work including the $80.5 million DARPA OTA awarded January 2024 for prototype development, the $57.3 million DENALI TA1A program with DARPA (cost-plus-fixed-fee, December 2022, with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics as prime subcontractor for software development), the $53.7 million Joint All-Domain Warfighting Software (JAWS) Phase 3 from DARPA (May 2023, with subcontracts to Raytheon Advanced Products & Solutions and Corsair Group for battle management command and control), a $26.3 million ASTRA OTA for systems interoperability software from Electronic Systems Center (September 2024), and the $18.6 million Software for Innovative Research to Enhance Naval Operations (SIREN) effort with Office of Naval Research (June 2024) for Navy battle management and logistics software design. STR also holds a naval grant from Office of Naval Research for "Radio and Optical Techniques for Localization of Equatorial Plasma Irregularities" (awarded July 2025, completion February 2028). The company's subcontractor profile shows heavy engagement from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (hardware and research support), Parsons Government Services (radar systems engineering and integration), American Electronic Warfare Associates (electronic warfare and AI agent development), Vision Systems Inc. (multi-INT analysis and wargaming), and academic partners including Cornell University, University of Illinois, and Virginia Tech on DARPA research initiatives.

Service Contract Inventory data captures only 4 SCI records across FY2022–FY2024, all in STR's subcontractor role; this sparse coverage reflects that the bulk of STR's federal work is classified, R&D-intensive, or sits below SCI thresholds, and does not represent the company's true federal services footprint. Where SCI reports activity, STR delivered roughly 2.9 FTEs to federal service contracts in FY2024 (all as sub-labor).

STR operates as a prime contractor on nearly all significant awards and maintains selective subcontractor relationships with larger primes such as Parsons Government Services, Vision Systems Inc., American Electronic Warfare Associates, and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The company's subcontracting model leans toward specialized technical sub-awards on DARPA and Navy programs rather than a feeder-to-prime strategy—STR brings systems integration and research leadership as a prime, then engages subs for domain expertise (formal methods, simulation, RF hardware, wargaming platforms). This positioning underscores STR's role as a prime systems integrator and R&D lead rather than a labor-intensive subcontractor. No SBA set-aside certifications (8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone) are referenced in the source; STR competes across full-and-open defense research procurements on technical merit.