United Protective Technologies, LLC

United Protective Technologies, LLC, a small business manufacturer based in Locust, North Carolina, delivers advanced nanocomposite coatings, protective surface technologies, and specialty mechanical components to defense and federal research agencies as a prime contractor (93% of recent awards), competing exclusively under total small business set-asides across its SBIR and STTR research portfolio and full-and-open for commodity component supply. UPT is structured as a limited liability partnership operating for profit; the source does not identify external ownership designations beyond small-business status.

UPT's capability footprint centers on advanced protective coatings for defense applications — corrosion resistance, wear reduction, erosion mitigation, and thermal management — alongside commodity bolt and clamp supply. The company has established itself as a prolific SBIR Phase I and Phase II contractor, with representative prime work including a $5.3 million SBIR Phase II contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for the High Velocity Erosion (HIVE) System (award September 2022, completion November 2026); a $2.9 million STTR Phase II contract from the Office of Naval Research for advanced nanocomposite coatings research (award April 2026, cost-plus-fixed-fee through April 2030); a $2 million SBIR Phase II contract from the Department of the Army for lightweight internal-combustion power generation (LIGHTNING program, award October 2024); and a $1.2 million contract from Naval Strategic Systems Programs under 873 Authority (award March 2025, cost-plus-fixed-fee through March 2027). Alongside R&D work, UPT holds a $250,000 indefinite delivery contract with Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime for bolt assembly and clamp products, from which multiple purchase orders and delivery orders totaling tens of thousands of dollars have been executed since 2021. Recent commodity supply includes an $8,679 purchase order from DLA for bolt assembly (award December 2024). The company also received a $224,972 SBIR Phase I contract from the Shared Services Center for functional release coatings for X-ray shell optics (award September 2026, firm fixed-price through March 2027).

Customer concentration reflects defense R&D dominance. The top five customer organizations by award count account for 61% of awards, with Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime leading in volume (12 awards, $329 thousand combined potential value), followed by the Department of the Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center / Naval Air Systems Command (9 awards, $3.8 million), the Air Force Research Laboratory (7 awards, $8.2 million), and the Department of the Army (6 awards, $3.7 million). By potential value, the Air Force Research Laboratory anchors the portfolio at $8.2 million, followed by the Office of Naval Research at $6.3 million across five awards, with Naval Air Systems Command and the Army R&D centers splitting the remainder. The divergence between volume and value rankings reflects DLA's high-frequency, low-dollar commodity orders against the SBIR-driven research spend concentrated at AFRL and ONR.

UPT's vehicle portfolio is research-grant-centric rather than GWAC-based. The company operates primarily under SBIR and STTR authorities, which structure awards as definitive contracts rather than task orders under open vehicles. The source names four parent IDVs with task-order activity: an indefinite delivery contract (W911W606D0008) carrying four task orders worth $2.9 million; a Basic Ordering Agreement (N6833521G0037) with one task order valued at $1.3 million; and two additional vehicles with single task orders each. The $250,000 DLA indefinite delivery contract for mechanical components generates purchase orders but is commodity-focused and does not anchor significant R&D volume.

Activity trajectory has been volatile. Award counts per year show 2022 at seven awards, contracting to three in 2023, recovering to seven in 2024, then dropping to one in 2025 and four so far in 2026. Combined potential value stands at $38.9 million against $43.5 million obligated (112% of potential), indicating project spending that has exceeded contract ceiling values. Four awards (combined potential value $8 million) reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure in the SBIR pipeline.

UPT subcontracts selectively. The source names three primes: National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (two sub-awards for additive manufacturing of hypersonic components and defense manufacturing grant subcontracts, most recent June 2026); Cambridge International Systems, Inc. (one sub-award for thin-film coatings and tribological engineering to Army Aviation and Missile R&D, June 2024); and Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation (one sub-award for rotorcraft rotor blade engineering and field support under the TETRAS program, August 2023). Subcontract work represents 7% of recent awards and focuses on coating engineering and aerospace manufacturing support rather than prime capability delivery.

UPT's footprint classification reflects research-and-development intensity — 27 of 74 awards fall under physical and engineering sciences R&D (excluding nanotechnology and biotechnology), with 12 awards categorized as hardware manufacturing and 11 as aircraft parts manufacturing. The PSC profile mirrors this: 14 awards for airframe structural components, 12 for commercial hardware, and 18 combined for national defense R&D services (basic research, applied research, experimental development). Place of performance is consistently Locust, North Carolina.