General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American aerospace and defense corporation. As of 2019, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the United States, and the sixth-largest in the world, by sales.[2] The company ranked No. 92 in the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[3] It is headquartered in Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia.[4][5][6][7] Formed in 1954 with the merger of submarine manufacturer Electric Boat and aircraft manufacturer Canadair,[8] it evolved through multiple mergers and divestitures and changed markedly in the post–Cold War era of defense consolidation. General Dynamics’ former Fort Worth Division, which manufactured the F-16 Fighting Falcon, was sold to the Lockheed Corporation in 1993, but GD re-entered the airframe business in 1999 with its purchase of business jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 371 on the Fortune 500, was formed on March 31, 2011, as a spin-off of Northrop Grumman. HII comprises three divisions: Newport News Shipbuilding, Ingalls Shipbuilding and Technical Solutions. HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Mission Driven Innovative Solutions, Nuclear and Environmental, and Oil and Gas groups. Mike Petters is the president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Petters previously served as president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and as president of Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. He joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987 in the Los Angeles-class submarine construction division.

Leidos, formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is an American defense, aviation, information technology, and biomedical research company headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that provides scientific, engineering, systems integration, and technical services. Leidos works extensively with the United States Department of Defense (4th largest Department of Defense contractor FY2012), the United States Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Intelligence Community, including the NSA, as well as other U.S. government civil agencies and selected commercial markets.

The Raytheon Company is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007. Raytheon is the world’s largest producer of guided missiles.[4] On June 9, 2019, Raytheon announced a merger of equals with the aerospace companies of United Technologies.[5] Established in 1922, the company reincorporated in 1928 and adopted its present name in 1959. As of 2018 the company had around 67,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of approximately US$25.35 billion.[6] More than 90% of Raytheon’s revenues were obtained from military contracts and, as of 2012, it was the fifth-largest military contractor in the world.[7] As of 2015, it is the third largest defense contractor in the United States by defense revenue.[8] In 2003, Raytheon’s headquarters moved from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Waltham, Massachusetts.[9] The company had previously been headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1922 to 1928, Newton, Massachusetts, from 1928 to 1941, Waltham from 1941 to 1961 and Lexington from 1961 to 2003.