THE EUROPEAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY

he European defence industry employs around 500,000 people  directly and indirectly generates 1 200 000 jobs .

The structure of the European defence industry is highly dispersed with a few large players and about 1350 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While companies are scattered over almost the whole EU, a few countries (Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) host the bulk of SMEs as well as top companies.

Within the “top group” of European defence companies, yearly turnovers range between €0.5 billion and €23 billion EUR (average €3 billion). Employment ranges between 1900 and 154 000 employees (average 30 000 employees).

The UK, France, and Italy dominate the European market in terms of the number of active companies and their sales of arms. In the UK BAE Systems (€23 billion of arms sales and 82 500 employees) is the largest defence company. In France it is Thales (€7 billion and 62 000) and Safran (€4.5 billion and 70 000). In Italy Finmeccanica (€8 billion and 47 000) is the largest. In addition, Airbus, a trans-European company, ranks second (€13 billion and 136 000) in Europe after BAE Systems. Some of these companies are not exclusively producers of arms, which explains the varying ratios of sales to employees.

Small companies are mainly active in the production of weapons and ammunition, while large companies focus more on vehicle production and aircrafts.

European Defense Companies

Alphabetical Order

1. Airbus (NL/France): Airbus (a consortium of French, German and Spanish state funding) Airbus owns part of Thales
2. Arquus (Belgium)
3. BAE Systems (UK): BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, defense and information security based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defense contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. Its largest operations are in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense. Its next biggest markets are Saudi Arabia, then Australia; other major markets include Canada, Japan, India, Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Sweden. The company was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion purchase of and merger of Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GEC), with British Aerospace, an aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer.
4. Dassault Aviation (France): Dassault Aviation owns 26.59% of Thales
5. Diehl Group (Germany): Diehl Defense GmbH & Co. KG is a German weapon manufacturer headquartered in Überlingen. It operates as a division of Diehl Stiftung and speacializes in the production of missiles and ammunition.
6. Eaton (Ireland)
7. Edisoft (Portugal) Thales Edisoft Portugal, S.A. is a company of Thales Group that offers software development and engineering solutions, systems integration and technological consulting for critical systems in land, maritime, space or cyberspace for the defense and civil markets.
8. Elettronica (Italy)
9. Fincantieri S.p.A. (Italy): Fincantieri S.p.A.  is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014). The company builds both commercial and military vessels. Fincantieri designs and builds merchant vessels, passenger ships, offshore, and naval vessels, and is also active in the conversion and ship repair sectors.
10. Indra Sistemas (Spain)
11. Hensoldt AG (Germany)
12. KNDS (Netherlands)KNDS is the joint holding company formed by German family-controlled defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann(KMW), and the French government -owned weapons manfufacturer Nexter, two of the leading European manufacturers of military land systems. The joint holding company is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2020, the number of employees at KNDS and its subsidiaries was 8,270, with a turnover of €2.4 billion, an order backlog of around €10.6 billion and an order intake of €3.3 billion. Its products include main battle tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems, weapons systems, ammunition, military bridges, customer services, battle management systems, training, protection and a wide range of equipment
13. Konsberg Gruppen (Norway) Norwegian multinational company, that supplies high-technology sytems to customers in the merchant marine, defense, aerospace, offshore oil and gas industries and renewable and utilities industries.
14. Leonardo (Italy): Leonardo S.p.A. , formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica is an Italian multinational company specializing in aerospace, defense and security . Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest defense contractor in the world based on 2020 revenues. The company is partially owned by the Italian government, which holds 30.2% of the company's shares and is its largest shareholder. On 1 January 2016, Leonardo-Finmeccanica became a single industrial company by integrating the activities of its subsidiaries Agusta Westland, Alenia Aermacchi, DRS Technologies, Selex ES, OTO Melara and WASS. The company is organised into five divisions (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cybersecurity). It is also the parent company and corporate centre for the subsidiaries and joint ventures Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, MBDA and ATR.
15. MBDA (Trans-European) MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of missiles and related systems Headquartered in Le Plessis-Robinson, France the company was founded in December 2001 via the merger of three of the most prominent European missile systems companies: the French Aérospatiale Matra Missiles, the Anglo-French Matra Bae Dynamics and the missile division of the Anglo-Italian Alenika Marconi Systems. These businesses were subsidiaries of EADS (now called Airbus),BAE Systems and Finmeccanica (now Leonardo), and all three remain MBDA's parent companies. MBDA employs around 13,000 people worldwide as of 2023 and, despite being an integrated company, has maintained national divisions since its creation: MBDA France (over 6,000 employees), MBDA UK (over 4,000) and MBDA Italy (1852). In March 2006, LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH, the German missile subsidiary of EADS, was acquired by MBDA and in 2010, an office was opened in Madrid, Spain, leading to the formation of two additional national divisions: MBDA Germany (1,200 employees) and MBDA Spain (25). In 2023, MBDA generated €4.5 billion in revenue. It works with over 90 armed forces worldwide and also has a number of subsidiaries, including one in the United States, MBDA Inc (50 employees).
16. MTU Aero Engines AG (Germany) MTU Aero Engines AG is a German aircraft engine manufacturer. MTU develops, manufactures and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines.
17. Nammo (Norway)
18. Naval Group (France) Naval Group is a major French industrial group specializing in naval defense, design, development and construction.. Its headquarters are located in Paris. Its two main shareholders are the French State (62.25%) and Thales Group (35%).In 2024, Naval Group employs 15,261 people across 17 countries.
19. Navantia (Spain): Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. The company designs, builds, and supports different types of surface vessels, submarines, and systems. It directly employs nearly 5,000 workers distributed among its operating centers. Navantia is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world. The company is also expanding into markets such as renewable energy, the offshore industry and naval service
20. Patria (Finland) Patria Plc) is a Finnish provider of defense , security and aviation life-cycle support services. Patria is owned 50.1% by the Finnish government and 49.9% by Norwegian defense group Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS
21. Polish Armaments Group (Poland) The Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa or PGZ SA  (English: Polish Armaments Group) is a holding company established by the Polish government in 2013 to unite Polish state owned defence industry companies. Headquartered in Radom, the group is Poland's largest and one of Europe's major arms manufacturers comprising over 50 subsidiaries.In 2023, PGZ was ranked 64th on the list of 100 largest arms companies in the world in terms of revenue, published by SIPRI.
22. QinetiQ Plc (UK)
23. RENK Group (Germany): The Renk Group AG is a German global manufacturer of transmissions, engines, hybrid drive systems, vehicle suspension systems, plain bearings, couplings, and testing systems. The company builds special gearboxes for tanks, frigates, icebreakers, and industry and is a leading supplier of running gear and damping systems for tracked and wheeled military vehicles. In 2022, the group achieved a turnover of €850 million and employed 3,000 people. About 70% of its turnover was generated by tank and marine gear units.
24. Rheinmetall AG (Germany): Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is the largest German and fifth largest European arms manufacturer, and produces a variety of armored fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers in both wheeled and tracked versions. In 2022, Rheinmetall was the largest defense company in Germany, and the fifth largest in Europe. In 2023, 66% of Rheinmetall AG shares were held by institutional investors, 48 % of which came from North America, 21 % from Europe and 3 % from the rest of the world.
25. Rolls Royce (UK): Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defense company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for aviation and other industries. Rolls-Royce is the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines (after CFM International) and has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Rolls-Royce was the world's 16th largest defense contractor in 2018 when measured by defense revenues. The company is also the world's fourth largest commercial aircraft engine manufacturer, with a 12% market share as of 2020.
26. Saab (Sweden): Saab, with subisiaries collectively known as the Saab Group is a Swedish aerospace and defense company primarily operating in Sweden. 
27. Safran (France): Safran S.A. is a French multinational aerospace, defence and security corporation headquartered in Paris. It designs, develops and manufactures both commercial and military aircraft engines; launch vehicles, spacecraft and missile propulsion systems; as well as various other aerospace and military equipment and devices. The company was founded in 2005 through a merger between the aerospace engine manufacturer SNECMA and the electronics specialist SAGEM. Safran's subsequent acquisition of Zodiac Aerospace in 2018 significantly expanded its aeronautical activities. The company employs over 92,000 people and generated 27.31 billion euros in revenue in 2024
28. SES SA (Luxembourg)
29. Serco (UK) : Serco Group Plc is a British multinational defense, health, space, justice, migration, customer services and transport company. The company operates in Continental Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific Region, including Australia and Hong Kong, and North America.
30. Telespazio (Italy): Telespazio Spa is a European spaceflight service services company founded in 1961. It is a joint venture owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales Group (33%) headquartered in Rome. Telespazio provides services that include the design and development of space systems, the management of launch services and in-orbit satellite control, Earth observation services, integrated communications, satellite navigation and localization and scientific programs.
31. Thales (France) Thales: Thales (25,6% owned by the French state). Thales owns parts of other companies (such as Edisoft in Portugal or Naval Group in France. Together with Leonardo (that owns part of Hensoldt in Germany) Thales owns parts of  Telespazio and Elettronica. 
32. ThyssenKrupp (Germany