---
title: "Defense Manufacturing Statistics 2026: US Industrial Base, Employment, and Outlook"
description: "Current US defense manufacturing statistics. How big is the defense industrial base, how many defense workers, top primes, ITAR registrations, NDAA spending, and 2026 outlook from DoD, BLS, AIA sources."
slug: defense-manufacturing-statistics
type: statistics
publishedAt: 2026-05-29
updatedAt: 2026-06-02
readingTime: "~11 min read"
keywords: "defense manufacturing statistics, US defense industrial base, defense contractors, defense employment, ITAR registration"
breadcrumb:
  - { name: "Home", href: "/" }
  - { name: "Defense Manufacturing Statistics", href: "/defense-manufacturing-statistics" }
linkPhrases:
  - "defense manufacturing"
  - "defense industrial base"
  - "defense manufacturing statistics"
  - "defense contractors"
related:
  - manufacturing-statistics
  - aerospace-manufacturing-statistics
  - defense-space-manufacturing-industry-trends-2026
sources:
  - title: "FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act"
    publisher: "US Congress"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.congress.gov/"
  - title: "Defense Industrial Base Profile"
    publisher: "US Department of Defense / Office of Industrial Base Policy"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.businessdefense.gov/"
  - title: "Aerospace and Defense Facts and Figures"
    publisher: "Aerospace Industries Association"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.aia-aerospace.org/"
  - title: "Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Registrations"
    publisher: "US Department of State"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/"
---

<UpdatedDate date="2026-06-02" readingTime="~11 min read" />

The US defense industrial base spans aerospace platforms, electronics and avionics, ground vehicles, ships and submarines, missiles and munitions, soldier systems, and a long tail of specialty components.

<KeyTakeaways>

- US defense industrial base revenue exceeds $470 billion annually when defense work across aerospace, electronics, vehicles, shipbuilding, and ammunition is combined.
- The FY2024 NDAA authorized $886 billion in total defense spending, with roughly $170 billion specifically for procurement.
- Top defense primes include Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Boeing Defense, and L3Harris.
- ITAR-registered entities number over 13,500 in the United States.
- Virginia, California, Texas, Maryland, and Connecticut anchor the largest defense-industry clusters.

</KeyTakeaways>

## How big is the US defense industrial base?

<StatSnippet value="$470B" source="AIA / DoD estimates, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.aia-aerospace.org/">
US defense industrial base annual revenue across aerospace, electronics, vehicles, shipbuilding, and munitions categories.
</StatSnippet>

<StatSnippet value="$886B" source="FY2024 NDAA, US Congress" sourceUrl="https://www.congress.gov/">
FY2024 NDAA total defense authorization, with approximately $170B directed to procurement and $145B to RDT&E.
</StatSnippet>

The market splits between commercial-defense dual-use products and pure-defense work. The latter category is more concentrated, with a small number of primes and a tightly qualified supplier base.

## How many people work in US defense manufacturing?

<StatSnippet value="1.1M" source="BLS / DoD, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.bls.gov/iag/">
Direct DoD-related manufacturing employment, with another 1+ million supported across the broader supplier network.
</StatSnippet>

<StatGrid>
  <StatCard value="$886B" label="FY2024 NDAA authorization" source="US Congress, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="$170B" label="DoD procurement spending (FY2024)" source="DoD, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="$470B" label="Defense industrial base annual revenue" source="AIA / DoD estimates, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="1.1M" label="Direct DoD-related manufacturing employment" source="BLS / DoD, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="13,500+" label="ITAR-registered entities (US)" source="DDTC, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="50%+" label="Share of A&D revenue from defense" source="AIA, 2024" />
</StatGrid>

## Who are the top US defense primes?

<DataTable caption="Major US defense prime contractors and primary focus areas, 2024">

| Prime              | FY2024 DoD obligations (est.) | Focus areas                                                     |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------: | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Lockheed Martin    |                       $65B+ | F-35, missiles, space, helicopters (Sikorsky), C4ISR             |
| RTX (Raytheon)     |                       $43B+ | Missiles, sensors, engines (Pratt & Whitney), defense electronics |
| Boeing Defense     |                       $32B+ | Military aircraft, satellites, rotorcraft, weapons               |
| General Dynamics   |                       $30B+ | Submarines, combat vehicles, IT services, business jets          |
| Northrop Grumman   |                       $28B+ | B-21, strategic deterrence, space, autonomous systems            |
| L3Harris           |                       $13B+ | Communications, ISR, avionics, mission systems                   |
| Huntington Ingalls |                       $10B+ | Aircraft carriers, submarines, surface combatants                |
| Leidos             |                        $9B+ | IT services, intelligence, defense health                        |
| BAE Systems Inc.   |                        $8B+ | Combat vehicles, weapons, electronic warfare                     |

</DataTable>

US defense procurement concentrates among a handful of prime contractors. The top five primes alone account for approximately half of all DoD procurement spending.

<InlineCTA title="See where your defense-supplier shop shows up in AI search" body="DoD program offices and prime contractor sourcing teams increasingly use AI assistants in early supplier research. Run a free check on your domain to see how AI search currently describes your defense work." source="defense-manufacturing-statistics-mid" />

## Which states have the most defense manufacturing?

<DataTable caption="Top states by defense and aerospace combined employment, 2024">

| State         | A&D employment | Anchor activities                                                  |
| ------------- | -------------: | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| California    |        135,000 | Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne     |
| Virginia      |         85,000 | Newport News shipbuilding, Northrop, BAE, deep DoD presence        |
| Texas         |         80,000 | Lockheed F-35, Bell, L3Harris, Raytheon                            |
| Florida       |         72,000 | Lockheed, Boeing Defense, NASA, MacDill / Eglin / NAS Jacksonville |
| Washington    |         65,000 | Boeing Defense, naval bases, Bremerton shipyard                    |
| Massachusetts |         60,000 | Raytheon, MIT Lincoln Lab, Draper, defense electronics             |
| Connecticut   |         58,000 | Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Electric Boat                           |
| Arizona       |         47,000 | Raytheon Missile Systems, Boeing AH-64, Northrop                   |
| Maryland      |         42,000 | NSA/Cyber, Northrop, Lockheed, defense IT cluster                  |
| Alabama       |         38,000 | Redstone Arsenal cluster, missile and rotorcraft work              |

</DataTable>

## How many ITAR-registered entities are there in the US?

<StatSnippet value="13,500+" source="Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/">
US entities holding active DDTC ITAR registration as of 2024.
</StatSnippet>

ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) governs the export and disclosure of defense-related technology. Any company that manufactures, exports, or brokers defense articles or services must register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. ITAR registration is not a certification of capability, but it is a baseline gate for defense work.

<StatGrid>
  <StatCard value="2,000+" label="Tier-1 and tier-2 defense suppliers (estimated)" source="DoD industrial base assessments, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="~6,000" label="US sites holding AS9100" source="IAQG OASIS, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="Section 889" label="China-prohibition supply chain rule applies to all DoD vendors" source="FY2019/2023 NDAA" />
</StatGrid>

<PullQuote source="DoD Office of Industrial Base Policy, 2024 Industrial Capabilities Report">
Maintaining a resilient defense industrial base requires investment across hundreds of critical sub-tier suppliers, many of which serve commercial markets as their primary business.
</PullQuote>

## What does this mean for defense suppliers in 2026?

Three forces shape the competitive picture. First, demand-side pressure is real, with primes and DoD program offices actively seeking second-source qualifications. Second, regulatory complexity has increased with CMMC, NDAA Section 889, and ITAR all gating supplier eligibility. Third, AI-driven supplier discovery has begun to influence early-stage research.

Suppliers that publish their ITAR registration, CMMC level, AS9100 status, US-citizen workforce signaling, and specific defense-relevant capabilities online accelerate their entry into prime contractor qualified-supplier lists.

<Callout type="tip" title="Where to go from here">

For trends and outlook framing, read [defense and space manufacturing industry trends 2026](/defense-space-manufacturing-industry-trends-2026). For closely related context, see [aerospace manufacturing statistics](/aerospace-manufacturing-statistics) and the [manufacturing statistics report](/manufacturing-statistics). To see how AI search currently describes your defense-supplier business, run a [free AI-visibility check](/checker).

</Callout>

<CiteBox title="Defense Manufacturing Statistics 2026" url="https://manufacturingseo.ai/defense-manufacturing-statistics" citation={`Manufacturing SEO AI. "Defense Manufacturing Statistics 2026: US Industrial Base, Employment, and Outlook." Manufacturing SEO AI, June 2026. https://manufacturingseo.ai/defense-manufacturing-statistics`} />