NEPTUNE Rising: UCAR to Develop Navy’s Future Atmospheric Modeling Engine in $23M Deal

University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, was awarded a $23,535,959 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for research and development of the Navy’s Next-Generation Navy Environmental Prediction System Utilizing a Nonhydrostatic Engine (NEPTUNE). NEPTUNE is a spectral element solver for the compressible, non-hydrostatic, deep-atmosphere equations of motion and a critical component of the Navy’s numerical weather prediction system. The contract does not include options and has a cumulative value of $23,535,959. A $3,800,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order was issued concurrently. The task order does include options, and if exercised has a cumulative value at the $11,832,439. Work for the initial task order will be performed at University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by March 2030. Fiscal 2025 working capital funds (Defense) in the amount of $285,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N0017325D2403, N0017325F2424).