Federal contractor · SEATTLE, WA

NORTHWEST RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.

NORTHWEST RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. received $2.4M in federal contract obligations in FY2026, on 6 awards (−49% vs FY2025). Since FY2017: $38.9M. Its largest customer was Department of the Air Force ($2.1M). It also received $3.2M in federal grants and other assistance in FY2026.

Obligations · FY2026
$2.4M
New awards
6
Sole-source
7.3%
Single offer
68%
UEI
CBP3W28RNZB3
Small business
Open in the contracts explorerRelationship graph

Spending by fiscal year

Obligations per federal fiscal year (October–September).

  1. 2.6MFY2017
  2. 1.9MFY2018
  3. 9.4MFY2019
  4. 2.9MFY2020
  5. 2.7MFY2021
  6. 2.4MFY2022
  7. 5MFY2023
  8. 5MFY2024
  9. 4.7MFY2025
  10. 2.4MFY2026

Top buying agencies

Obligations in FY2026.

  1. Department of the Air Force$2.1M87%
    4 awards
  2. Department of the Navy$314.9K13%
    2 awards

What was bought · Where the work was performed

Obligations in FY2026.

What was bought

  1. Research & development$2.2M93%
  2. IT & telecom$175K7.3%

Where the work was performed

  1. King County, WA$2.2M92%
  2. Monterey County, CA$188.5K7.9%

Integrity signals

Shares of the year's obligations, next to the country's.

  • Low competition76%
    US 39% · $1.8M
  • Sole-source awards7.3%
    US 30% · $175K
  • Single-offer competitions68%
    US 8.7% · $1.6M
  • Urgency justifications0.0%
    US 5.1% · $0

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Agencies awarding it sole-source contracts

  1. Department of the Navy$175K
    Department of Defense · 1 awards

Largest awards

  1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO PROVIDE RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TESTING OF THE AFCAP CAPABILITY. THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL TO THE ADVANCEMENT AND MATURING THE TECHNOLOGY TO A HIGHER TRL AND INCLUSION IN FUTURE DOD SYSTEMS.$4.8M
    Department of the Air Force· King County, WA· Research & development· Apr 29, 2024 – Apr 24, 2026· FA945324CX029
  2. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS CONTRACT, IS "TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME MODELING CAPABILITIES TO SPECIFY THE HIGH FREQUENCY FIELD ALIGNED BACKSCATTER OF THE IONOSPHERE IN ORDER TO MEET VARIOUS AIR FORCE IONOSPHERIC DIAGNOSTIC NEEDS.$993K
    Department of the Air Force· King County, WA· Research & development· Sep 25, 2023 – Apr 28, 2026· FA945323CX013
  3. THE SCOPE OF THE EFFORT IS LABOR AND TRAVEL TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE THAT WILL ENABLE ACCURATE SIMULATION OF SPORADIC-E IONIZATION LAYER EFFECTS ON OTHR.$962.6K
    Department of the Air Force· King County, WA· Research & development· Sep 26, 2023 – Apr 29, 2026· FA945323CX012
  4. TO CREATE A LAND SCATTER MODEL THAT IS BASED OFF A GLOBAL MAP INSTEAD OF A CONSTANT NUMBER. TO CREATE AN HF RELEVANT VEGETATION MODEL. TO PRODUCE AN ELECTRIC PERMITTIVITY MAP FROM GLOBAL SALINITY AND RAINFALL.$697.5K
    Department of the Air Force· Monterey County, CA· Research & development· Sep 22, 2023 – Dec 3, 2025· FA945323CX011
  5. SOFTWARE SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT OF SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEM.$175K
    Department of the Navy· Monterey County, CA· IT & telecom· Dec 18, 2025 – Dec 18, 2025· N0017326P5504
  6. 873AUTHORITY$140K
    Department of the Navy· King County, WA· Research & development· Dec 2, 2025 – Apr 20, 2026· N6426726C7015

Federal grants & assistance received

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

NORTHWEST RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. received $3.2M in federal assistance in FY2026, on 31 actions (4 new awards), +33% vs FY2025. Its largest program was 43.001 · Science ($1.8M).

Assistance · FY2026
$3.2M
New awards
4
Actions
31
Since FY2021
$22.6M

Assistance by fiscal year

  1. 4MFY2021
  2. 4.5MFY2022
  3. 5.9MFY2023
  4. 2.7MFY2024
  5. 2.4MFY2025
  6. 3.2MFY2026

By type

  1. Grants$3.2M100%

Top programs

  1. 43.001 · Science$1.8M56%
  2. 12.800 · Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program$863.2K27%
  3. 47.050 · Geosciences$382K12%
  4. 12.300 · Basic and Applied Scientific Research$151.5K4.8%

Awarding agencies

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration$1.8M56%
  2. Department of the Air Force$863.2K27%
    Department of Defense
  3. National Science Foundation$382K12%
  4. Department of the Navy$151.5K4.8%
    Department of Defense

Largest awards

  1. A FINE-WIRE SENSOR ARRAY FOR GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS OF OPTICAL TURBULENCE IN THE ATMOSPHERE$1.4M
    12.800 · Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program· Department of the Air Force· Project grant· Sep 27, 2023 – Jun 11, 2026· FA95502310741
  2. CHICKEN VS. EGG, AGAIN: THE EARLY CHROMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF SOLAR ENERGETIC EVENTS$1.1M
    12.800 · Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program· Department of the Air Force· Project grant· Aug 24, 2023 – Jun 1, 2026· FA95502310681
  3. INVESTIGATION OF THE SOURCES AND EFFECTS OF THE LARGE SCALE GRAVITY WAVES OBSERVED BY ICON MIGHTI IN THE QUIET TIME THERMOSPHERE$824.9K
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Project grant· Dec 13, 2023 – Feb 3, 2026· 80NSSC24K0274
  4. 21-HSR21_2-0088 UP UP & AWAY! RELATING EARLY CME ACCELERATION TO CORONAL MAGNETIC TOPOLOGICAL FEATURES..$751.7K
    43.001 · Science· National Aeronautics and Space Administration· Project grant· Nov 9, 2022 – Jan 15, 2026· 80NSSC23K0098
  5. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MODELING INTERNAL WAVES FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE$700.5K
    47.050 · Geosciences· National Science Foundation· Project grant· Mar 15, 2021 – Nov 25, 2025· 2045270
  6. IMPROVEMENT, COUPLING, AND VALIDATION OF THE MESORAC-HIAMCM FOR SIMULATING ACCURATE THERMOSPHERIC GWS FROM THE MOST COMMON…$651.5K
    12.300 · Basic and Applied Scientific Research· Department of the Navy· Project grant· Jun 4, 2024 – Apr 21, 2026· N000142412367

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Subawards

Matched by Unique Entity ID: the first-tier subawards this organization reported as a prime recipient, and those primes reported paying it.

As a prime: who it pays · FY2026

  • Sub-grants: $50K (1 subaward)

1 sub-recipient

  1. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY$50K100%
    NEW YORK, NY · 1 subaward

As a sub-recipient: who pays it · FY2026

  • Sub-contracts: $60K (1 subaward)
  • Sub-grants: $59.9K (1 subaward)

1 prime

  1. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$119.9K100%
    SAN ANTONIO, TX · 2 subawards

By fiscal year

  • FY2021: $22K paid out · $2.3M received
  • FY2022: $383.4K paid out · $5.1M received
  • FY2023: $1.3M paid out · $6.3M received
  • FY2024: $737.2K paid out · $0 received
  • FY2025: $0 paid out · $823.4K received
  • FY2026: $50K paid out · $119.9K received

Primes report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more themselves, and many go unreported (GAO-24-106214). Reporting moved from FSRS to SAM.gov in March 2025 and fewer sub-contracts have been reported since. Amounts are what primes reported; they are never added to prime award totals.

Source: Subawards (first-tier sub-contracts and sub-grants reported under FFATA) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov (reports filed in SAM.gov, formerly FSRS)), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · Subawards loaded from FY2021.

Teaming partners

Companies this company reported paying, primes that reported paying it, from FFATA subaward reports.

Companies it pays

12 companies · $2.5M reported

  1. ZUNICALC, INC.$1.1M
    PACIFIC GROVE, CA · 4 subawards · Scientific research and development services
  2. BLACK RIVER SYSTEMS COMPANY, INC.$595.6K
    UTICA, NY · 1 subaward · Scientific research and development services
  3. NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY$153.2K
    LAS CRUCES, NM · 1 subaward

Primes that pay it

13 companies · $14.6M reported

  1. BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$5.9M
    MCLEAN, VA · 10 subawards · Scientific research and development services
  2. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$3.6M
    SAN ANTONIO, TX · 3 subawards · Scientific research and development services
  3. SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION$2.6M
    RESTON, VA · 8 subawards · Architectural, engineering, and related services

Showing the top 3 of each list. Open the profile for potential partners and the full lists.

Primes report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more themselves, and many go unreported (GAO-24-106214). Reporting moved from FSRS to SAM.gov in March 2025 and fewer sub-contracts have been reported since. Amounts are what primes reported; they are never added to prime award totals.

Source: Subawards (first-tier sub-contracts and sub-grants reported under FFATA) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov (reports filed in SAM.gov, formerly FSRS)), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · Subawards loaded from 2021.

Competitors

Companies that win from the same buyers in the same markets: obligations by agency and industry compared over the last three fiscal years.

Compared on 5 markets (agency × industry), FY2024–FY2026.

  1. INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORIES INC$12.5M−52% in FY2026
    POWAY, CA · 2 entities · 96% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveAir Force · Scientific research and development servicesNavy · Scientific research and development services
  2. ASTROSCALE US INC$9M−98% in FY2026
    DENVER, CO · 73% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveAir Force · Scientific research and development servicesNational Aeronautics and Space Administration · Scientific research and development services
  3. BLUE RIDGE ENVISIONEERING, INC.$8.8M−67% in FY2026
    CHANTILLY, VA · 72% of this company's obligations are in markets they both serveAir Force · Scientific research and development services

Showing the top 3 of 25 competitors. Open the profile for the full list.

Who sells to the same buyers in the same markets, not who wins against whom on a given contract. Prime contract obligations by the agency and NAICS code of each award; subawards are never added. A company is a family of legal entities, joined by parent UEI or, in part, by an AI reading of names.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · FY2024–FY2026.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026.