The U.S. defense and national security sector generated $204.3 billion in sales last year, a 2.5 percent increase from the previous year, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) said Dec. 6.
Defense and national security accounted for 34 percent of all aerospace and defense industry sales, which totaled $604.7 billion in 2015, a 2.6 percent uptick, AIA said at its annual year-end luncheon in Washington, D.C. Commercial aerospace sales rose 2.8 percent to $276.2 billion, while services, including engineering services, program consulting and wholesale distribution, climbed 2.7 percent to $124.2 billion.
While manufacturers of aerospace and defense systems exported a record-high $142.8 billion worth of merchandise last year and are on track for another record-breaking year in 2016, AIA President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Melcher said the industry remains hindered by unnecessary trade restrictions for defense and unmanned aircraft.
“We could and should do better,” Melcher said. “We need a national security cooperation strategy … that makes defense trade with allies and partners a first-tier priority.”
As part of that strategy, the president would direct the Commerce, Defense and State Departments to work together to remove defense export barriers. “If we believe that we can’t be the world’s policeman, we can at least arm our friends and allies with the kind of capabilities they need,” Melcher said.
According to AIA, the top 10 destinations for U.S. defense exports last year were: Saudi Arabia, $2.3 billion; Taiwan, $2 billion; Australia, $1.8 billion; the United Kingdom, $1.4 billion; Japan, $1.3 billion; the United Arab Emirates, $1.3 billion; South Korea, $1.2 billion; Mexico, $1.1 billion; Israel, $909 million; and Italy, $618 million.
Aerospace and defense imports into the United States hit a record $61.2 billion in 2015, a 65 percent jump from 2010. Combined with exports, the net result was a $81.6 billion positive trade balance last year, the largest of any U.S. industry.
The U.S. aerospace and defense industry supported almost 1.7 million jobs in 2015. Washington state, California, Texas and Michigan were the employment leaders.
Turning to other topics, Melcher urged President-elect Donald Trump to include NASA facilities in his plan to rebuild U.S. infrastructure, saying many of them date to the 1960s. Melcher also praised James Mattis, the retired Marine general nominated by Trump to be defense secretary, saying he “understands the needs of the warfighter” and “will have a pretty good idea about where in the Pentagon there might be some places where he can lend impact.”