The number of major U.S. aerospace and defense prime cont…

History20th-21st centuryUnited Stateshigh confidence

The number of major U.S. aerospace and defense prime contractors declined from 51 in the 1990s to five.

Notes on verification

Confirmed by DoD and CRS reports, CBS News and accounts of the 1993 "Last Supper" meeting; the Pentagon's 2022 competition report dates the figure of 51 to the 1990s. Wording corrected on 1 Oct 2026 after independent review.

Sources

Secretary of Defense Speech at RAND (As Delivered) (defense.gov)
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47751 (congress.gov)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-budget-price-gouging-military-contractors-60-minutes-2023-05-21/ (cbsnews.com)

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