By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
PSC AC14 is stage four of the R&D code structure applied to the Department of Defense military subfunction. The manual defines the stage plainly: expenses for R&D such as the operating costs of research facilities and equipment and other overhead costs. It is not science, it is the cost of keeping the places where science happens running. FY2025 obligations were $977 million.
Overhead bought from engineers
Engineering Services (541330) leads at $266 million, ahead of every research registration. 541712 follows at $209 million, 541715 at $158 million, 336411, Aircraft Manufacturing, at $126 million, and 541714 at $71 million. Engineering services first on an overhead code is what test range operations, instrumentation support, and laboratory facility operations look like when they are contracted out.
PSC and NAICS in a sentence
The PSC identifies the budget function, subfunction, and R&D stage being funded; the NAICS code identifies the contractor's industry.
Compare AC24, the atomic energy defense version of the same stage, which carried roughly three times as much in FY2025 with a completely different vendor profile. Same stage, same budget function, very different work. If you operate ranges, test facilities, or laboratory infrastructure, stage-four codes across the whole A series are a market most services firms never search.
NAICS crosswalk
Where FY2025 AC14 dollars landed, by the winning vendor's registered NAICS code.
- 541330Engineering Services$266.1M
- 541712Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)$209.2M
- 336411Aircraft Manufacturing$126.1M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
Frequently Asked
PSC AC14 questions, answered.
What does PSC AC14 cover?
R&D administrative expenses under the DoD military subfunction: operating costs of research facilities and equipment and other overhead associated with running an R&D program.
What NAICS codes win AC14 work?
Engineering Services (541330) led FY2025 at $266 million, ahead of 541712 at $209 million and 541715 at $158 million, an ordering that reflects facility and range operations, not research.
Is AC14 actually research funding?
No. Stage four is the overhead layer: facility operations, equipment operating costs, and administrative expenses supporting an R&D program. The research itself is coded at stages one through three.
What is the atomic energy equivalent?
AC24, which applies the same administrative expense stage to the atomic energy defense activities subfunction and carried substantially more money in FY2025.
Watch AC14 opportunities
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