Defense contractor

A defense contractor (sometimes called a military contractor) is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a defense department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems. Services can include logistics, technical and training (e.g., warfare simulation), and communications support.

Defense contractors do not generally provide direct support of military operations. Under 1949 Geneva Conventions defense contractors engaged in direct support of military operations may be legitimate targets of military attack. Compare to Private military contractor.


Rank	Name	Country	2004 Rank	Defense Revenue (US$ millionThe comma is used in the North American sense; e.g. Lockheed Martin defense revenues are just over $34 billion, or $34,050,000,000.)	% of total revenue
Top 10 World-Wide Defense Contractors, 2005
1	Lockheed Martin	U.S.	1	34,050	95.8
2	Boeing	U.S.	2	30,464	58.1
3	Northrop Grumman	U.S.	3	22,126	74.0
4Adding BAE's 2004 revenue with that of UDI (the purchase of this company has been completed) gives a revenue total of $22,636.8 million, which would place it third.	BAE Systems	U.K.	4	20,345	80.0
5	Raytheon	U.S.	5	18,771	92.7
6	General Dynamics	U.S.	6	15,000	78.2
7	EADS	Netherlands Incorporated in Netherlands, but maintains headquarters in France and Germany	8	10,506	24.2
8	Honeywell	U.S.	12	10,240	40.0
9	Thales	France	7	8,869	63.1
10	Halliburton DoD contract awards only	U.S.	16	8,000	39.1
Source: www.defensenews.com

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