Lockheed Martin was the US Department of Defense's leading contractor again last year, despite a generally poor year which saw it take a $519 million net loss on reduced turnover. The company won over $15 billion in contracts (including $4 billion in research work) in the fiscal year to 30 September, more than doubling its lead over Boeing to $2.4 billion.
Boeing's $12 billion of awards included $2.7 billion of R&D work, with Raytheon in third place winning barely half the total of the Seattle company. Fifth ranking Northrop Grumman, with $3 billion in contracts, will close on Raytheon following its planned merger with shipbuilding specialist Litton Industries, which last year won $2.7 billion of work. The merger has yet to win government anti-trust approval.
General Electric won $1.6 billion worth of Pentagon contracts, dropping to ninth in the ranking behind TRW. But it is seeking to merge with Honeywell, which ranked 15th with nearly $1 billion of US military work. Science Applications International entered the top 10 with $1.5 billion of contracts.
Source: Flight International