The Top 25 U.S Defense Contractors Driving the Military-Industrial Complex

This article was assisted by AI for research and drafting purposes. All views are presented by DJ for Change, aiming to break down the hidden systems that shape our world.

Introduction: The Money Machine of War

The military-industrial complex (MIC)—a term first warned about by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961—refers to the tight relationship between the U.S. government, the Pentagon, and the corporations that profit from endless war and military spending. The U.S. spends more on defense than the next 10 countries combined—over $850 billion annually in recent years.

Behind those budgets are the corporations. Some build jets and bombs, some make IT networks, and others profit from logistics and private contracting. Below is a breakdown of the 25 most influential defense contractors, their impact across decades, and how much money flows through their doors.

The Top 25 U.S. Defense Contractors

1. Lockheed Martin

Revenue: ~$67 billion in 2023, ~70% from defense contracts.

Key Products: F-35 fighter jet, Black Hawk helicopters, missile defense systems.

Impact: The #1 contractor for decades. Lockheed Martin defines modern U.S. air power. The F-35 alone is projected to cost $1.7 trillion over its lifetime—the single most expensive weapons program in history.

2. Raytheon Technologies (RTX)

Revenue: ~$69 billion in 2023 (merged with United Technologies in 2020).

Key Products: Patriot missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, radar, jet engines.

Impact: Heavily involved in U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Its missiles are “the product of choice” whenever Washington authorizes strikes abroad.

3. Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Revenue: ~$24 billion defense segment (2023).

Key Products: F/A-18 Super Hornet, Apache helicopter, KC-46 tanker, satellites.

Impact: Once Lockheed’s rival for dominance, Boeing shifted focus to commercial aviation but remains a defense giant.

4. Northrop Grumman

Revenue: ~$36 billion defense.

Key Products: B-2 and B-21 stealth bombers, drones (Global Hawk), nuclear modernization.

Impact: Major player in Cold War nuclear strategy, now leading U.S. nuclear modernization with the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (ICBMs).

5. General Dynamics

Revenue: ~$42 billion (2023), half defense.

Key Products: M1 Abrams tank, Virginia-class submarines, Gulfstream jets.

Impact: Dominates armored vehicles and nuclear submarine construction—pillars of U.S. land and sea power.

6. BAE Systems (U.S. subsidiary of UK giant)

Revenue: ~$25 billion in U.S. contracts.

Key Products: Bradley Fighting Vehicle, artillery, naval guns.

Impact: Shows how “foreign” defense companies become integrated into the U.S. MIC.

7. L3Harris Technologies

Revenue: ~$19 billion defense.

Key Products: Communications, avionics, surveillance.

Impact: Key in military electronics, mergers in 2019 created this giant.

8. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)

Revenue: ~$11 billion.

Key Products: U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.

Impact: Without them, no aircraft carriers exist—vital for U.S. global dominance.

9. Textron

Revenue: ~$13 billion, ~40% defense.

Key Products: Bell helicopters, drones, armored vehicles.

Impact: Supplier of helicopters used in Vietnam through today.

10. Leidos

Revenue: ~$15 billion.

Key Products: IT services, cyber defense, surveillance.

Impact: Example of defense contractors moving from hardware to digital warfare.

Other Major Players (11–25)

SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.) – Cyber, IT, and consulting.

DynCorp (acquired by Amentum) – Private contracting, logistics, training.

Bechtel – Construction for military bases and nuclear facilities.

CACI International – Intelligence, data, and surveillance tech.

ManTech – Cybersecurity and federal IT.

Peraton – Space, intelligence, cyber operations.

Kratos Defense – Drone and space tech.

Aerojet Rocketdyne (now owned by LMT) – Rocket engines, missiles.

KBR, Inc. – Logistics powerhouse, tied to Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

Parsons Corp. – Military engineering, space.

VSE Corp. – Maintenance and logistics for military fleets.

Amentum – Spinout of AECOM’s government services, big in logistics.

Booz Allen Hamilton – Consulting, intelligence analysis, contractor for NSA.

Jacobs Engineering – Military infrastructure and nuclear support.

Fluor Corp. – Construction and energy infrastructure for defense.

Historical Impact by Era

Mid-20th Century (1940s–1970s):

Boeing (B-52), General Dynamics (nuclear subs), Northrop (stealth development).

These giants created the backbone of Cold War nuclear deterrence.

Post-9/11 Era (2001–2015):

Halliburton/KBR, DynCorp, and Fluor profited massively from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Logistics and private security contracts exploded.

Last Decade (2013–2023):

Lockheed’s F-35, Raytheon’s missiles, and Northrop’s B-21 bomber lead the way.

Cyber and IT firms like Booz Allen, Leidos, and CACI rise with surveillance and cyberwarfare contracts.

The Money Trail

Lockheed Martin: $46 billion in U.S. contracts in 2022.

Raytheon: $40 billion.

General Dynamics: $28 billion.

Northrop Grumman: $26 billion.

Boeing Defense: $22 billion.

The top 5 defense contractors alone take over 40% of the Pentagon’s contract spending.

Conclusion: The Business of War

The U.S. military-industrial complex is less a conspiracy than a well-oiled business machine. Corporations lobby, politicians approve budgets, and the Pentagon funnels money. Whether it’s an F-35 flying over Europe, a Patriot missile in the Middle East, or a surveillance network at home, these companies are the true pillars of American empire.

Top 25 U.S. Defense Contractors (by FY2023 DoD Obligations)

Methodology note: Ranked by U.S. Department of Defense prime contract obligations for FY2023 (latest comprehensive year), compiled from USAspending.gov by Forecast International. Figures are rounded to the nearest $ million.

Darley

# Company FY23 DoD Obligations Notable programs / roles (examples)

1 Lockheed Martin $68,590M F-35 Lightning II; PAC-3 MSE; Aegis/Trident missiles

2 RTX (Raytheon Technologies) $27,820M Patriot & NASAMS; AMRAAM; Tomahawk; P&W F135 engines

3 Boeing $21,790M KC-46 tanker; P-8A; F-15EX; Apache; MQ-25

4 General Dynamics $22,965M Virginia/Columbia-class subs (Electric Boat); M1 Abrams

5 Northrop Grumman $15,094M B-21 Raider; Sentinel (GBSD) ICBM; missile warning/space

6 HII (Huntington Ingalls) $9,130M Sole builder of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers; amphibs/sub work

7 Humana Government Business $7,780M TRICARE health services

8 BAE Systems (Inc./PLC) $7,530M Bradley IFV; M109 howitzer; naval guns; EW

9 L3Harris Technologies $6,373M Tactical radios; ISR avionics; space payloads

10 Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS) $4,424M Tactical gear & equipment distribution

11 AmerisourceBergen (Cencora) $4,392M Pharmaceuticals distribution for DoD

12 General Electric $3,845M Turboshaft/jet engines (e.g., T700/T901); avionics

13 Health Net Federal Services $3,601M TRICARE health services (West Region)

14 V2X (Vectrus + Vertex) $3,146M Base ops, aviation services, logistics

15 Leidos $2,919M IT/cyber; intel services; airborne ISR

16 SAIC $2,910M Enterprise IT, engineering, training

17 Booz Allen Hamilton $2,525M Cyber/AI, intel & defense consulting

18 Okinawa Idemitsu KK $2,359M Fuel supply in Japan

19 KBR $2,302M Logistics/base support; contingency ops

20 General Atomics $2,158M MQ-9 Reaper/Gray Eagle UAVs

21 Amentum Services $2,145M Maintenance, logistics, nuclear/DOE support

22 CACI International $2,070M C4ISR, EW, intel analytics

23 Oshkosh Defense $1,959M JLTV, tactical trucks

24 Johns Hopkins University (APL) $1,939M DoD FFRDC—missile defense, hypersonics R&D

25 Pfizer $1,866M Vaccines & pharmaceuticals

Source: Forecast International, Top 100 Defense Contractors 2023 (compiled from USAspending.gov).

Darley

Context on Defense News’ global defense-revenue list (separate metric) and its exclusion of medical/pharma firms is here.

Defense News

How to use the table (for your readers)

“Obligations” vs. “revenue”: These numbers are DoD contract dollars obligated in FY23, not total company revenue. For a global look by defense revenue, see the Defense News Top 100 (Lockheed, RTX, Northrop, GD, Boeing lead).

Defense News

Why health care & fuel appear: USAspending obligations include TRICARE (Humana, Health Net) and pharma/fuel distributors (AmerisourceBergen, Pfizer, Okinawa Idemitsu). That’s part of the modern MIC money flow, even if they don’t build weapons.

Darley

Shipbuilding note: HII is the sole builder of U.S. aircraft carriers; it also co-builds nuclear subs, which is why it ranks high even with fewer programs.

HII

About the Author: I’m DJ for Change, a writer and community-builder dedicated to exposing the systems that shape our lives—from war profiteering to local economies. I use AI tools to assist my writing, but every word is chosen to bring truth and clarity to the people.