Arizona’s aerospace & defense sector is among the largest in the United States, contributing billions of dollars to the state economy, as well as employing thousands of high-wage workers.

• A&D companies employed 54,112 Arizonans in 2016 with average annual salaries ranging from $50,000 to $118,000. (Emsi 2017.2 QCEW and non-QCEW)
• Arizona ranks 4th among all states for employment within aerospace and defense manufacturing, with only California, Washington and Texas employing more workers. (Emsi 2017.2 QCEW and non-QCEW)
• Arizona ranks 8th among the states for employment in aviation and aerospace services. (Emsi 2017.2 QCEW and non-QCEW)
• There are more than 1,200 active Arizona companies in the A&D supply chain. (Arizona A&D database)

Arizona supplies the aerospace & defense talent pipeline with career-ready and college-credentialed workers.

• In 2015, the Arizona's postsecondary institutions awarded more than 3,000 degrees related to engineering occupations.

DoD employment in Arizona at bases and other facilities totals nearly 41,000 jobs. (Defense Manpower Data Center)

• Arizona received $9.1 billion in Department of Defense (DoD) contracts in fiscal year 2016, making Arizona the 11th largest recipient of DoD spending in the country. (USAspending.gov)
• 57% of DoD’s fiscal year 2016 contracts for guided missiles ($3.6 billion worth) were executed in Arizona. (USAspending.gov)
• The top DoD contractors in the state are Raytheon, Boeing, Honeywell, Orbital Sciences and General Dynamics. (USAspending.gov)
• The DoD’s primary concentrations of military employment in Arizona are at four major defense installations: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, Luke Air Force Base and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma. 
• Fort Huachuca is the largest Arizona military employer overall with more than 12,000 civilian and military personnel employed at the fort. 
• Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is the second largest military employer in Arizona with more than 9,500 employed at the base.
• With more than 6,000 employees, MCAS Yuma is the third largest military employer in Arizona. 
• Luke Air Force Base, a national training facility for the F-35 and F-16, is the third largest military employer in Arizona with 6,124 employees.

Arizona companies are leaders in research, engineering, operations, and maintenance, repair and overhaul services that support the aviation industry.

• Sky Harbor is ranked among the top 10 busiest commercial airports in the United States with more than 1,200 flights serving more than 120,000 passengers and moving 800 tons of air cargo every day.
• Arizona ranks #1 among the states for DoD purchases of guided missiles and #4 for rotary-wing aircraft.
• Tucson International Airport offers 19 nonstop destinations and serves an average of 3.2 million passengers annually.

Arizona is home to many blue chip aerospace & defense companies.

• Large, internationally known employers, such as Raytheon, Boeing, Honeywell and Northrop Grumman are working on innovative, cutting-edge technology in virtually every A&D sector to keep America safe.
• Raytheon's guided missile division is headquartered in Tucson. 
• Orbital ATK produces satellites and launch vehicles at facilities in Chandler and Gilbert.
• Boeing builds and rebuilds the U.S. Army’s Apache helicopters in Mesa.
• Robertson Fuel Systems fabricates aircraft fuel tanks in Tempe.
• General Dynamics Mission Systems innovates in the fields of secure communications networks, radios, satellite technology and cybersecurity at its Scottsdale facility.
• Honeywell Aerospace is headquartered in Phoenix and manufactures propulsion engines and auxiliary power units. 
• BAE Systems manufactures body armor at its Phoenix facility.
• Northrop Grumman is developing unmanned aerial systems in Sierra Vista.
• L3 Communications builds electro-optical components at its Tempe facility. 
• Founded in 1920, Sargent Aerospace manufactures precision-engineered aerospace components.

Foreign markets are opening up to Arizona’s exporters in the aerospace & defense sector.

• Arizona exported nearly $4.0 billion in A&D commodities in 2016. (Global Trade Atlas)