Data for the Top 100 list comes from information Defense News solicited from companies, from companies’ annual reports, from analysts, and from research by Defense News, the International Institute for Strategic Studies and SPADE Indexes.
Companies were contacted by Defense News and asked to fill out a survey reporting their total annual revenue and revenue derived from defense, intelligence, homeland security and other national security contracts.
Currency conversions for non-U.S. firms were calculated using average market conversion rates over each firm’s fiscal year to mitigate the effects of currency fluctuations.
Company adjustments made to 2019 defense revenue during the subsequent year is not reflected unless otherwise noted.
Total defense revenue is based on a percentage of total revenue given by the company.
Defense revenue includes sales to the U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. intelligence community, and defense sales to international customers.
Raytheon Company (ranked 5th last year) and United Technologies Corporation (ranked 10th last year) merged in April 2020 to form Raytheon Technologies Corporation. Figures represent pro forma sales.
Defense revenue figures are the sum of Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security business and its Global Services business, as well as its Government Services business, excluding revenue from projects with NASA, commercial satellites and the like.
Defense revenue is calculated by combining revenue from the Marine, Combat and Technologies segments, collectively known as the company’s “defense segments.” This does not account for defense revenue from the Aerospace segment, or nondefense work in the Technologies segment.
Fiscal 2019 defense-related revenue was recalculated due to the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation.
China’s two largest shipbuilding conglomerates, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (ranked 14th last year) and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (ranked 24th last year), merged in November 2019 to create China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. Total revenue only reflects the company’s shipbuilding business, and its defense revenue reflects defense-related activity from the overall shipbuilding business.
Airbus lists its “headquarters” in the Netherlands and its “main office” in France.
Leidos reorganized its business in 2020 and therefore recast its 2019 data in the last U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing through Form 10-K.
In November 2020, Amentum acquired DynCorp International, which was ranked 56th in last year’s list.
Amentum and Edge Group reported the same amount for fiscal 2020 defense revenue. Amentum is ranked above Edge Group because its fiscal 2019 defense revenue is higher.
Total revenue is not that of Hanwha Group but rather of Hanwha Group’s defense subsidiaries. Hanwha Group’s total revenue is about $59.36 billion.
Defense revenue reflects awards made by Japan’s Ministry of Defense for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
KNDS is a joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter.
The fiscal 2020 defense revenue figure includes some defense and security products delivered to other defense contractors and government entities that support national security, such as C3 systems, oil and gas pipeline security systems, and public security warning and alarm systems.
Parsons completed three acquisitions from 2019 to 2020, each with a focus on the defense market: Braxton Science & Technology Group; QRC Technologies; and OGSystems.
Serco announced the completion of the acquisition of consultancy Whitney, Bradley & Brown on April 27, 2021.
The GKN Aerospace Defense unit was created in 2020 as part of a reorganization announced in 2019. Prior to this, revenue was not broken down between civil and defense markets.
Defense revenue figures reflect the company’s defense and government security business, and the fiscal 2019 figure was recalculated to reflect that.
Curtiss-Wright acquired Pacific Star Communications in October 2020. The business generated about $120 million in sales in 2020, of which about two months was reflected in Curtiss-Wright’s 2020 revenue figures.
Defense revenue figures include all revenue from the U.S. government and agencies but do not include revenue from international defense and intelligence customers.
Howmet Aerospace split from Arconic Inc. in April 2020.
Charles Peiffer took on the interim role March 19, 2021.
On March 1, 2021, CAE announced plans to acquire L3Harris Technologies’ Military Training business for $1.05 billion. The closing of the acquisition is expected in the second half of 2021.
Fluor Corporation was excluded from last year’s rankings because the company did not release its 2019 financial data until later in the year.
The defense revenue figure is based on the company’s defense and space revenue, which includes commercial-related revenue.
Peraton acquired Northrop Grumman’s integrated mission support and IT solutions business on Feb. 1, 2021, and acquired Perspecta on May 6, 2021.
