MAY 1982 - VOLUME 3 - NUMBER 5
G L O B A L N E W S W A T C H
MAY 1982 - VOLUME 3 - NUMBER 5
Defense Contracts: Last Year's Big WinnersAs more and more people, including Republicans, are crying out for cuts in the U.S. defense budget, a new report released by the Department of Defense reveals the windfall that the armaments industry has been reaping since Reagan came to power. Defense Department outlays to the top 100 contractors rose 28% in fiscal year 1981 - to a total of $64.7 billion, more than 10% of the total U.S. government fiscal 1981 budget. The top eight recipients of Pentagon largesse - McDonnell Douglas, United Technologies, General Dynamics, General Electric, Boeing, Lockheed, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon - accounted for $24.4 billion, or 37.7%, of the total contract value awarded to the 100 leading armaments companies. The big eight received 22.6% more tax dollars in fiscal 1981 than they did in fiscal 1980, when they were also the top eight recipients, only in slightly different ranking. The Defense contracts went "primarily for aircraft, missile/space systems, ships, and electronics/communications equipment," noted the Defense Department's 1981 report. For a copy of the report, entitled 100 Companies Receiving the Largest Dollar Volume of Prime Contract A wards, Fiscal Year 1981, send $4.40 to:
David O. Cooke
What They Make:The principal products made and supplied by the top 10 contractors are as follows: McDonnell Douglas Corp. - F-15 EAGLE, F-4 PHANTOM, F-18 HORNET fighter aircraft, and C-10 cargo aircraft. HARPOON, TOMAHAWK, and DRAGON missiles. United Technologies - F-100, TF-30, TF-33, and J-60 turbofan and turbojet engines. UH-60 UTTAS and CH-53 SEA STALLION helicopters. General Dynamics Corp. - F-16 and F-111 fighter aircraft. AEGIS and Standard Arm missiles. MK-15 close-in weapon system. Nuclear submarines. General Electric Co. - Nuclear submarines. F-18 fighter aircraft engines. UH-60 UTTAS helicopter engines. MINUTEMAN missile. Miscellaneous electronics and communications equipment. Boeing Co. - B-52 STRATO FORTRESS, C-135 STRATOLIFTER, CH-47 CHINOOK and H-46 SEA KNIGHT aircraft. ROLAND and AWACS missile systems. Lockheed Corp. - TRIDENT and POLARIS missile systems. P-3 ORION, C-141 STARLIFTER, C-5 GALAXY, and C-130 HERCULES aircraft. Space vehicles. Amphibious assault ships. Hughes Aircraft Co. - TOW, SHORAD, PHOENIX, ROLAND, MAVERICK, and TRIDENT missile systems. Radar equipment and guided missile systems for A-6 INTRUDER, F-14 TOMCAT, F-15 EAGLE aircraft. R&D I for electronics and communications equipment and missile and space systems. Raytheon Co. - PATRIOT, SPARROW, and HAWK missile systems. Underwater sound equipment. Miscellaneous electronics and communications equipment. Grumman Corp. - F-14 TOMCAT, E-2 HAWKEYE, A-16 INTRUDER, and EA-6B PROWLER aircraft. Electronic countermeasures for F-111 aircraft. Chrysler Corp. - M1 and M60 tanks.
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