List of defense contractors

A defense contractor (or security contractor) is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems. Services can include logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support in cooperation with the government.

Security contractors do not generally provide direct support of military operations. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, military contractors engaged in direct support of military operations may be legitimate targets of military attacks.

Defense contracting has expanded dramatically over the last decade, particularly in the United States, where in the last fiscal year the Department of Defense spent nearly $316 billion on contracts.[1] Contractors have also assumed a much larger on-the-ground presence during recent American conflicts: during the 1991 Gulf War the ratio of uniformed military to contractors was about 50 to 1, while during the first four years of the Iraq War the U.S. hired over 190,000 contractors, surpassing the total American military presence even during the 2007 Iraq surge and 23 times greater than other allied military personnel numbers.[1] In Afghanistan, the presence of almost 100,000 contractors has resulted in a near 1 to 1 ratio with military personnel.[1]

The surge in spending on defense services contractors that began in 2001 came to a halt in 2009 with a new eye on the bottom line, leading to the Better Buying Power initiative of 2010.[2][3]

The following is a list of the largest defense contractors as of 2017:[4]

Rank Company name Defense Revenue
(US$ billions)		 % of Total Revenue
from Defense
1 United States Lockheed Martin 43.5 92%
2 United States Boeing 29.5 31%
3 United Kingdom BAE Systems 23.6 91%
4 United States Raytheon 22.4 93%
5 United States Northrop Grumman 20.2 82%
6 United States General Dynamics 19.7 63%
7 European Union Airbus 12.3 17%
8 United States L3 Technologies 8.9 84%
9 Italy Leonardo 8.5 64%
10 France Thales Group 8.4 50%
11 Russia Almaz-Antey 7.4 100%
12 United States United Technologies 6.9 12%
13 United States Huntington Ingalls 6.8 96%
14 Russia United Aircraft 5.6 80%
15 United Kingdom Rolls-Royce 4.7 25%
16 United States Textron 4.4 32%
17 United States Honeywell 4.4 11%
18 United States Leidos 4.3 60%
19 South Korea Hanwha 4.2 10%
20 United States Harris 4.2 71%
21 Japan Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 4.0 12%
22 United States Booz Allen Hamilton 4.0 69%
23 France Naval 3.5 100%
24 United States General Electric 3.5 13%
25 United Kingdom Melrose Industries 3.3 26%

[nb 1]

  1. ↑ N = New to the list

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Singer, Peter W. "The Regulation of New Warfare", The Brookings Institution, February 2010.
  2. ↑ Fryer-Biggs, Zachary. "Price Wars Prompt Firms To Abandon Service Sector." Defense News, 9 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Better Buying Power (Public Site)."
  4. ↑ Defense News: Top 100
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