Working with APL

APL provides a very broad set of capabilities. The scope of work done by APL spans a number of disciplines considered essential to the Department of Defense. In much of our work, APL has complete program responsibility from concept development to implementation, installation, testing, and evaluation.

The Laboratory frequently serves as a liaison between government and industry. We are entrusted with proprietary information. Often there is a long-term mutual commitment between APL and its sponsors throughout major system life cycles. We provide continuity, system insight for future development, and the ability to anticipate program needs. We develop and test system prototypes, but we transfer products to industry for commercial production. As a not-for-profit research and development center, APL operates primarily under a sole-source, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract administered by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the agency that represents our largest sponsor, the U.S. Navy. The NAVSEA contract, which is exclusively reserved for Navy or Navy-related tasks at APL, covers approximately 60% of the Laboratory's annual budget. This contract provides a framework for sponsors to bring work to APL and fund those efforts. APL also has separate contracts with several other government agencies, including NASA, the Army, the Air Force, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Treasury.

These business agreements represent commitments in principle to not-to-be-exceeded ceilings but no guaranteed funding. The Laboratory is funded exclusively by specific programs that satisfy current and future operational objectives of our sponsors. Our business depends on continued superior performance and cost effectiveness.

Sponsors assign tasks on an individual basis and provide technical oversight for those efforts. In our core competencies, APL accepts funded work from industry only when it does not compromise the Laboratory's independence, objectivity, and historic role as a trusted agent facilitating government/industry programs.

Numerous laboratories and facilities are available to task sponsors. An experienced Office of Procurement manages acquisition of materials. Our Subcontracts Office expedites needed high-value services or materials. Our Office of Technology Transfer streamlines the process of getting products to industrial partners.

To better serve the needs of our sponsors, APL maintains a number of field offices in various locations around the country.

U.S. Joint Forces Command – Norfolk, Virginia
U.S. Navy – Fairfax, Virginia
Naval Air Systems Command – Pax River, Maryland