Do you know what are the biggest defense contractors in the world? The combined defense-related sales of these 10 companies would be equivalent to about a third of the 2015 budget of the US military, or on a more surprising note, 5% of the entire US federal budget for that year.
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that produces products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems. Services can include logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support in cooperation with the government. Security contractors do not provide direct support for military operations. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, military contractors engaged in direct support of military operations may be legitimate targets of military attacks. One of the biggest defense contractors in the world is Thales. Thales makes the SPECTRA ballistic helmet for the French army and the Watchkeeper drone for the British army. This French company, which operates in about 50 countries and is partially owned by the French government. Formerly named L-3 Communications Holdings until the end of last year, L3 Technologies doesn’t exactly make weapons, but it is behind a lot of devices and services that support the military’s command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and training activities. The products of the dedicated industry are most often financed directly by the state and can be a driver of industrial development, in addition to direct jobs and the acquisition of new technologies, capacity building and the like. Due to the sophistication of the product, very often engineers who worked in the dedicated industry became the best experts in their field and worked on the projects of the specialized industry came to experience and knowledge that are rare in other sectors. For one company, this is a significant outflow of capital, but in the long run, there were experiences that later flowed into the solution of the problems of civil society. In addition to the substantial experience of the engineers themselves, results were obtained in research such as new materials, new energy sources, new ideas of energy transfer, It is well-known that the airline industry experienced the greatest progress during the Second World War precisely thanks to the superhuman efforts of engineers and war states to modernize their weapons. Cold War has promoted the use of nuclear energy so that it is widely used today for civilian purposes.
If you want to know more about 10 biggest defense contractors in the world, check Insider’s Monkey list of 10 Biggest Defense Contractors In The World and expand your knowledge more about this topic.
