Tri Models Inc.

Tri Models Inc., based in Huntington Beach, California, manufactures precision-machined aerospace hardware, wind tunnel models, and specialized test articles for federal research and development programs as a prime contractor (86% of awards) and subcontractor, competing predominantly under total small business set-asides on its NASA work and full-and-open on defense prime subcontracts. The company is a for-profit manufacturer classified under NAICS codes spanning miscellaneous fabricated metal products, machine shops, and R&D support services.

Tri Models' customer concentration is heavily skewed toward NASA. NASA Langley Research Center and NASA Glenn Research Center account for approximately 70% of the top customers by award count and 39% of combined potential value across the entire portfolio. The two NASA centers operate differently: Langley places many small task orders (61 awards, $10 million combined potential value) under standing BPAs for wind tunnel models and test articles, while Glenn issues fewer but larger orders (14 awards, $40.5 million combined potential value) for machining, fabrication, welding, instrumentation, and non-destructive testing services supporting the 10x10 foot supersonic wind tunnel and related facilities. The Air Force Materiel Command Test Center rounds out the top-three customers with 16 awards ($1.8 million combined potential value) for hardware fabrication and test support at Arnold Engineering Development Complex facilities. Beyond these three, Tri Models serves the Navy Strategic Systems Programs and other NASA centers, with 14 distinct federal customer agencies in total.

Tri Models holds two primary vehicle positions anchoring recurring work. A $5 million BPA with NASA Langley Research Center (awarded August 2026, running through August 2031) covers general and precision machining and fabrication with no set-aside at the BPA level, though individual calls carry total small business set-asides. A $5 million BPA with NASA Glenn Research Center (awarded August 2022, running through May 2027) provides machining, fabrication, welding, metal joining, instrumentation, inspection, and non-destructive testing services. Tri Models also executes work under older NASA IDICs (NNL16AA19Z, NAS102089, NNL08AA09B) that generated 77 task orders totaling $7.9 million in combined potential value. Recent representative prime awards include a $1.26 million firm fixed-price order from NASA Glenn (September 2022) for a characterization array for the 10x10 foot supersonic wind tunnel, a $357,838 order from the Air Force Test Center (September 2023) for a Second Tetra Adjustable Dogleg Sting and associated parts under total small business set-aside, and smaller BPA calls from Langley for wind tunnel models, aeroheating study model assemblies, and booster test articles in the $75,000 to $182,000 range.

Activity has been episodic rather than trending up, with six awards in 2022, five in 2023, seven in 2024, nine in 2025, and four through mid-2026. Only two awards complete within the next twenty-four months (combined potential value $213 thousand), indicating limited near-term recompete exposure. In its subcontractor role, Tri Models performs aerospace hardware fabrication and model delivery on defense primes, including Bell Textron on the Future Vertical Lift FLRAA program (model delivery and PDR work as of September-October 2025), Northrop Grumman on DARPA aircraft manufacturing and NGI development (2021–2025), Lockheed Martin on advanced systems and Trident-class missile models (2023–2025), Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory on the Peregrine lunar program (2024–2025), and Beyond New Horizons on Test Operations and Sustainment II metal fabrication at AEDC (2024–2025). Tri Models' capability set is tightly focused: precision machining, CNC programming, metal joining and welding, fabrication of specialty alloys and refractory materials, instrumentation design, non-destructive testing, and assembly of aerospace test articles and wind tunnel models to support aeronautics research, space vehicle testing, and missile system development.

Tri Models designs and builds wind tunnel test models, ground test hardware, flight test hardware and prototypes for the aerospace community