The federal government performs a variety of public services, from defending the nation to providing the latest medical research. But someone has to provide the weapons to defend the country and maintain the facilities that house those researchers, and that is where private contractors come in.
The federal government reports that it did business with 2,859 contractors during fiscal year 2010, awarding $466.7 billion in contracts altogether. That money is not spent evenly, however; of the top 10 contractors, all received a majority of their awards from the Department of Defense, which awards nearly $300 billion in contracts every year. That is more than 10 times the amount awarded by any other agency or department, and accounts for nearly two-thirds of all government contracts. In addition, the top five government contractors together accounted for nearly one-fifth of all fiscal year 2010 government contract dollars.
Below are the top government contractors for fiscal year 2010, according to data from the Office of Management and Budget's USAspending.gov website.
| Contractor | Amount Awarded | Largest Award Department | Largest Award Products/ Services Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | $30,357,440,610 | Defense | Aircraft Operational Systems Development |
| The Boeing Company | 16,095,220,590 | Defense | Aircraft, Fixed Wing |
| General Dynamics Corporation | 13,529,475,451 | Defense | Submarines |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation | 13,259,012,958 | Defense | Aircraft Carriers |
| Raytheon Company | 13,082,257,955 | Defense | Guided Missiles |
| L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. | 6,723,198,312 | Defense | Aircraft—Basic Research |
| United Technologies Corporation | 6,462,156,436 | Defense | Aircraft, Rotary Wing |
| Oshkosh Corporation | 5,951,419,402 | Defense | Combat Assault and Tactical Vehicles, Wheeled |
| SAIC, Inc. | 5,781,630,241 | Health and Human Services | National Institutes of Health—Operation of Government Facilities |
| BAE Systems, PLC | 5,085,336,837 | Defense | Weapons Systems, Specific Vehicular Accessories |
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