Defense Stocks: Military, Aerospace and Contractor Companies

Northrop Grumman is a prime aerospace and defense contractor building the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, solid rocket motors, and space and missile-defense systems. It is one of the prime contractors on the Golden Dome program and a major supplier of autonomous and electronic systems.

L3Harris Technologies is a defense prime focused on tactical communications, electronic warfare, avionics, night vision, space sensors, and missile and rocket propulsion through its Aerojet Rocketdyne unit. It supports air, land, sea, space, and cyber missions and ranks among the largest U.S. defense contractors.

Leonardo DRS is a supplier of defense electronics, systems, and military support services to U.S. forces and allies. It builds advanced sensing, network computing, force-protection, and electric power and propulsion technologies, including ship propulsion for the U.S. Navy. The Department of Defense accounts for roughly 80 percent of its revenue.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is the largest U.S. military shipbuilder and the sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, including Ford-class ships. It also builds Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines alongside General Dynamics, and its mission-technologies segment provides unmanned systems, cyber, and intelligence services to the Navy and other agencies.

Palantir Technologies develops data-integration and artificial-intelligence software used by defense and intelligence agencies for mission planning, targeting, and decision support. Its Gotham and AIP platforms support U.S. and allied military operations, alongside a growing commercial business. Government work remains a core part of the company.

Boeing's defense, space, and security segment produces military aircraft including the F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-15EX, KC-46 tanker, and P-8 Poseidon, plus Apache and Chinook rotorcraft, weapons, satellites, and the MQ-25 unmanned tanker. Defense is a substantial part of a company also focused on commercial jets.

Elbit Systems is an Israeli defense-electronics company that supplies electro-optical and surveillance systems, unmanned aircraft, electronic warfare suites, artillery and munitions, and helmet-mounted displays to many militaries. Its U.S. subsidiary serves American defense programs, and the company is a recognized pure-play defense electronics provider.

Curtiss-Wright supplies engineered products for aerospace, defense, and naval programs, including flight-control actuation, data-acquisition systems, embedded computing, and naval reactor and propulsion components. Its content appears on aircraft carriers, submarines, combat aircraft, and ground vehicles, and defense represents a large share of company revenue.

Leidos is a science and technology services company serving defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. It provides IT modernization, systems integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, and mission support to the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, and develops autonomous maritime and sensor systems for military customers.

Kratos Defense develops unmanned aircraft, target drones, tactical jet drones, rocket and hypersonic propulsion, satellite communications, and missile-defense systems. It focuses on affordable systems for contested environments and supplies the U.S. military with training targets and collaborative combat aircraft, including the Valkyrie unmanned platform.

CACI International provides technology and expertise for U.S. national-security missions, including signals intelligence, electronic warfare, cyber operations, secure communications, and enterprise IT. The company supports defense and intelligence-community programs, with a large majority of its revenue coming from U.S. government customers.

AeroVironment designs and builds unmanned aircraft and loitering munitions for military use. Its small drones such as Puma and Raven provide reconnaissance, and its Switchblade loitering munitions deliver precision strike. The company also develops larger unmanned systems and counter-drone technology for U.S. and allied ground forces.

Booz Allen Hamilton provides technology, analytics, cyber, and consulting services concentrated in the U.S. defense, intelligence, and civil sectors. The company supports Department of Defense and intelligence agency missions in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital modernization, and systems engineering, with government work making up the large majority of revenue.

Karman Holdings, operating as Karman Space & Defense, designs and produces mission-critical systems for missiles, missile defense, hypersonics, launch vehicles, and unmanned aircraft. Its products include payload protection systems, aerodynamic interstage structures, and solid rocket propulsion subsystems for U.S. strategic and tactical defense programs.

SAIC is a pure-play government technology services contractor providing systems engineering, IT modernization, artificial intelligence, training, and simulation to U.S. military branches and intelligence agencies. The company supports defense digital infrastructure, mission operations, and modernization programs across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force.

V2X provides mission support, logistics, engineering, and technology integration services to the U.S. military and allied governments across many countries. Its work spans base operations, aerospace and aircraft maintenance, training, contested logistics, and cyber and special systems integration for defense and intelligence customers.

GE Aerospace designs and produces jet engines and propulsion systems for commercial and military aircraft. Its military engines power platforms such as the F-15, F-16, and B-1, and the company supplies the T700 turboshaft used on Army helicopters. GE Aerospace is the single largest holding in the iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF.

Howmet Aerospace manufactures jet-engine components, titanium structural parts, and fastening systems for military and commercial aircraft. Its engineered castings and forgings are used on fighter, transport, and rotorcraft engines and airframes, supplying major defense aerospace programs as a key materials and components provider.

Rocket Lab provides launch services and spacecraft for defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. Its Electron rocket supports responsive deployment of military and reconnaissance satellites, its Neutron rocket is in development, and its space-systems unit builds spacecraft and components for national-security space programs.

TransDigm Group designs and produces highly engineered aircraft components, including flight controls, pumps, valves, ignition systems, and actuators, many sole-sourced to defense programs. With strong aftermarket positions, it supports U.S. and allied military fleet maintenance, and defense is a significant portion of total revenue.

HEICO Corporation manufactures replacement parts, electronics, and subsystems for aerospace and defense markets through its Flight Support and Electronic Technologies groups. Its products support military aircraft fleets and defense electronics programs, and the company supplies parts used across numerous deployed military platforms and missile systems.

Teledyne Technologies makes electronic and instrumentation systems including imaging sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads, unmanned underwater and marine systems, and electronic components used on defense platforms. Its sensing and imaging products serve military aircraft, naval, space, and ground applications for U.S. and allied forces.

Woodward designs control systems and components for aerospace and defense, including fuel systems, actuation, and combustion controls for military aircraft, missiles, and weapons. Its technologies support military turbine engines and precision-guided munitions, and defense aerospace is a meaningful part of its aerospace segment.

BWX Technologies is the sole manufacturer of nuclear reactors and fuel for U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, making it essential to naval propulsion. It also produces nuclear components, manages government nuclear operations, and supplies missile and space nuclear-related systems for national-security programs.

Textron's defense portfolio includes Bell military rotorcraft such as the V-22 Osprey and the V-280 Valor selected for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, plus unmanned systems, weapons, and armored vehicles through Textron Systems. Defense is a meaningful part of a company that also makes civil aircraft.

Moog designs precision motion-control components and systems for military aircraft, missiles, and space vehicles, including flight-control actuation and turret controls for combat vehicles. Its actuation and controls enable precision-guided weapons and military satellite positioning, and defense is a meaningful share of company revenue.

Oshkosh makes specialty vehicles and equipment. Through Oshkosh Defense it supplies tactical military vehicles to the United States and allied forces, including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and heavy and medium tactical trucks, while its broader business spans access equipment, fire apparatus, and vocational trucks.

Mercury Systems provides secure processing, sensor, and electronics subsystems for aerospace and defense. It adapts commercial computing technology for defense use in radar, electronic warfare, and signal and image processing, and supplies trusted microelectronics embedded in numerous U.S. defense platforms and missile programs.

Parsons provides defense, intelligence, and critical-infrastructure solutions, including missile defense, cyber, intelligence analysis, space, and electronic warfare. It also delivers engineering and technical services for government facilities and protected infrastructure, with defense and intelligence forming a substantial part of its federal business.

Redwire is a space and defense technology company providing spacecraft components, in-space manufacturing, power systems, sensors, and digital engineering. Its 2025 acquisition of Edge Autonomy added unmanned aerial systems, expanding Redwire across space infrastructure and multi-domain defense technology for government and national-security customers.

Voyager Technologies is a defense technology and space company. Its Defense and National Security segment supplies communications, guidance, navigation and control, and signals-intelligence systems, and it contributes to missile-defense programs including the Next Generation Interceptor. U.S. government work makes up most of its revenue.

Red Cat Holdings develops small unmanned aircraft systems for military and government use. Its Teal Drones unit produces short-range reconnaissance drones, including platforms selected for U.S. Army programs, positioning the company within the small-drone and unmanned defense-technology segment.

ATI Inc. produces specialty metals and materials, including titanium, nickel-based superalloys, and forgings used in military jet engines and airframes. Its materials are designed into defense aerospace programs and other demanding applications requiring high-strength, high-temperature alloys.

Carpenter Technology manufactures specialty alloys and engineered materials, including high-performance steels and titanium and nickel alloys for aerospace and defense. Its materials are used in military engine components, fasteners, and structural parts across defense aerospace platforms.

Viasat provides secure satellite communications and networking for U.S. and allied militaries, including tactical data links, encrypted communications, and resilient connectivity. Its government-systems business supplies battlefield communications and cybersecurity products, forming a significant part of revenue within a broader satellite and telecommunications company.

KBR provides engineering, technology, and mission-support services to government and commercial customers. Its Government Solutions business supports the U.S. and allied militaries with logistics, base operations, systems engineering, and specialized defense and intelligence technical services.

OSI Systems provides security screening, inspection, and optoelectronic systems through its Security and Optoelectronics divisions. Its cargo, baggage, and personnel screening products serve military bases, border security, and government installations, and its optoelectronic components are used in defense and aerospace electronic systems.

BigBear.ai provides artificial intelligence and analytics software for defense, intelligence, and government customers. Its platforms support decision intelligence, predictive analytics, and computer-vision applications used in mission planning, force protection operations, and supply-chain and border-security programs.

Ducommun provides engineering and manufacturing for aerospace and defense, producing structural assemblies and electronic systems for military aircraft, missiles, and space programs. As a tier-two supplier to defense primes, it builds airframe structures, electronic warfare subsystems, and components for strategic and tactical platforms.

Honeywell's aerospace business supplies engines, avionics, and systems for military aircraft and vehicles, including turbine engines for helicopters, navigation systems, and logistics support. Defense is a minority of revenue within a large, diversified industrial company spanning automation, building technologies, and materials.

Axon Enterprise makes TASER conducted-energy devices, body-worn cameras, and digital evidence-management software, used primarily by law enforcement. Military police and force-protection units use its less-lethal weapons and digital evidence platforms, giving the company limited defense exposure relative to its core public-safety market.