The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a non-profit research and development organization that serves as a prime contractor on federal defense, space, and advanced research programs across guidance and navigation systems, autonomous systems, control systems, sensors, and microfluidics. Draper competes exclusively on full-and-open procurements without small business set-aside designations, holding a portfolio of 2,604 prime awards (96% of its 2,699 total federal awards) worth $100.96 billion in combined potential value across 79 distinct customer agencies.

Draper's federal footprint is heavily concentrated in strategic weapons systems and advanced defense research. The Department of the Air Force anchors the portfolio by dollar value at $46.99 billion across 555 awards, followed by the Department of the Navy Strategic Systems Programs at $8.97 billion across 109 awards, with substantial exposure to Trident II (D-5) Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile work spanning preliminary system design ($2.42 billion), guidance systems development ($252 million), and service life upgrades ($242.3 million). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center accounts for $4.6 billion across 13 awards, including a recent $95 million indefinite-delivery single-award contract (October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031) for space operations and research support. The Naval Sea Systems Command represents $2.07 billion across 165 awards, centered on the Automated Celestial Navigation System (ACNS), unmanned undersea vehicle autonomy software, and technology evaluation services.

Recent representative prime awards illustrate Draper's capability breadth. A $294.78 billion definitive contract from Naval Strategic Systems Programs (March 14, 2025) funds HYPERSIGHT Phase I inertial navigation measurement, advanced navigation capability development, flight test support, GPS applications engineering, and electro-optical alternative navigation guidance work through September 30, 2029. A $2.453 billion Trident II (D-5) Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile definitive contract (October 1, 2023) supports preliminary system design, guidance advanced development, and component production under cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing. A $70.06 million definitive contract from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (September 29, 2023) funds development of vascular-immune and small intestine-immune organ-on-chip models, molecular assays, and omics-based technologies for medical countermeasure evaluation through September 28, 2028. A $24.62 million Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Air Force (May 15, 2025) supports development of a single board computer for the LGM-35A Sentinel Major Defense Acquisition Program ground-based strategic nuclear deterrent through November 16, 2026.

Draper holds multiple large indefinite-delivery vehicles positioning it for sustained task-order competition. The Missile Defense Agency's Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program represents a multi-billion-dollar ceiling IDIQ (awarded December 29, 2025, through December 28, 2035) procuring multi-domain defense capabilities across research, development, prototyping, systems engineering, and production. The Defense Microelectronics Activity's Advanced Technology Support Program V (ATSP V) carries a $25.357 billion ceiling (April 1, 2026, through December 29, 2035) for progressive microelectronics capability solutions. The Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Army Modernization Priorities Multiple Award Contract holds a $900 million ceiling (June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2033) for research, development, testing, and evaluation across physical, engineering, and life sciences. The Air Force Materiel Command Lifecycle Management Center's Anti-Tamper IDIQ (ATEA FPO MAC IDIQ) carries a $499 million ceiling (March 1, 2024, through February 28, 2034) for specialized engineering and technical services. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency maintains multiple OTA IDVs totaling $25.3 million in combined ceilings (SMART-RBC, SURFACE, MOCHA subcontractors, and POWER optical relay programs) supporting machine learning, silicon resonator, and wireless power beaming research.

Activity trajectory shows volatility in recent years—23 awards in 2022, 37 in 2023, 59 in 2024, 41 in 2025, and 12 in the partial year 2026 through October—with 18 awards (combined potential value $253.6 million) reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore facing recompete exposure. The top five parent contract vehicles span 263 task orders, anchored by Navy and Air Force indefinite-delivery contracts (96 and 43 task orders respectively) supporting navigation, missile systems, and advanced research work.

Draper operates almost entirely through self-performed work. On SCI-reportable federal service contracts, the vendor recorded FY2024 invoicing of $630 thousand across 1.1 FTEs at median government-paid hourly rates of $231.08 per hour, with 10th percentile labor at $201.48 per hour and 90th percentile at $260.69 per hour. SCI records show minimal subcontractor engagement on prime contracts (0% average sub-hours share). Draper subcontracts to major defense primes including Lockheed Martin (navigation software development, weapon system engineering, Trident II guidance subsystem work), Raytheon (Standard Missile 3 Block IIA, terminal ballistic effect development), BAE Systems (tactical boost glide radio system, Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent engineering), Northrop Grumman (Anguilla services, GBSD research and technical services), and academic partners including the University of Pennsylvania (DARPA Compartmentalization and Privilege Management program), North Carolina State University, Northeastern University, and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (DARPA research support).

Draper also acts as a federal grant sub-recipient. Recent examples include University of Colorado sub-awards (March 2025 through June 2026, multiple tranches) supporting disorientation research device experimentation at the NASA Human Research Program facility in Dayton, Ohio; University of Massachusetts Lowell (April 30, 2026) for Geodetic Reference Instrument Transponder for Small Satellites (GRITSS) VLBI integration and testing support; and University of Illinois (September 26, 2024) for microfluidic hardware design, fabrication, and testing supporting NIH R01 ovarian cancer research over five years.

The vendor competes without set-aside restrictions, positioning it as a premier research contractor across defense, space, and biomedical domains. Draper's technical depth in guidance, navigation, and control systems—demonstrated through the Trident II program and strategic weapons modernization work—anchors its Navy and Air Force relationships. Its cross-agency presence in DARPA, NASA, the Army, and the Department of Health and Human Services reflects a broad research portfolio spanning autonomous systems, advanced materials, synthetic biology, and human performance optimization.