# Defense Supercycle Defense electronics, aircraft, missiles and munitions, ships, ground vehicles and the industrial base. Theme: Defense (Industrials and defense). Page: https://thematiq.io/themes/defense/defense-supercycle/ ## Key facts - **The market: $30bn** Electronic warfare market (ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data), 2025) - **Growth: +3.5%** Military aircraft engines (growth, a year) (ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data), 2025–2030) - **The build: 8** parts in the Defense Supercycle bill of materials, each traced to the companies that supply it (ThematIQ research) - **The companies: 44** companies worth $1.3 trillion, earning on average 70% of their revenue here (Annual reports and exchange data, 2026-10-28) ## What it holds Listed companies that earn their revenue supplying these parts of the Defense Supercycle bill of materials, each read from its own reports. | Part | Covers | |---|---| | C4ISR / Electronics | c4isr systems, radar electronic warfare, defense electronics | | Prime / Platform OEM Sleeve | defense prime integration | | Aircraft | military aircraft, military aero engines | | Space | space security defense | | Shipbuilding | naval shipbuilding | | Missiles / Munitions | missiles munitions, solid rocket motors | | Industrial Base | defense industrial components | | Ground Vehicles | military ground vehicles | ## Largest companies | Company | Listing | Market value | |---|---|---| | Elbit Systems | ESLT.TA | $36 billion | | Boeing | BA.XNYS | $132 billion | | General Dynamics | GD.XNYS | $96 billion | | Rtx | RTX.XNYS | $264 billion | | L3Harris Technologies | LHX.XNYS | $49 billion | | Lockheed Martin | LMT.XNYS | $145 billion | | Northrop Grumman | NOC.XNYS | $79 billion | | Huntington Ingalls Industries | HII.XNYS | $11 billion | | Thales | HO.PA | $54 billion | | Leonardo - Societa' Per Azioni | LDO.MI | $32 billion | | SAAB Aktiebolag | SAAB-B.ST | $35 billion | | Rolls-Royce Holdings | RR.LSE | $142 billion | | National Presto Industries | NPK.XNYS | $1 billion | | LIG Nex1 | 079550.KO | $7 billion | | Leonardo DRS | DRS.XNAS | $9 billion | By listing country: United States 52%, South Korea 11%, United Kingdom 9%, Israel 5%, Sweden 5%, Germany 5%, France 4%, Italy 4%. ## The market - World military expenditure, including personnel and operations, not only equipment; a demand proxy, not a market size: $2.7 trillion (2024), SIPRI - C4ISR market: $139bn (2025), Fortune Business Insights - C4ISR market (growth, a year): +4.3% (2026–2034), Fortune Business Insights - C4ISR market: $138bn (2025), Expert Market Research - C4ISR market (growth, a year): +4.5% (2026–2035), Expert Market Research - C4ISR market: $133bn (2025), Straits Research - C4ISR market (growth, a year): +5.2% (2026–2034), Straits Research - C4ISR market: $126bn (2024), GM Insights - C4ISR market (growth, a year): +5.7% (2025–2034), GM Insights - Electronic warfare systems: $17bn (2025), GM Insights - Electronic warfare systems (growth, a year): +13% (2026–2035), GM Insights - Electronic warfare market: $22bn (2025), Expert Market Research - Electronic warfare market (growth, a year): +5.0% (2026–2035), Expert Market Research - Electronic warfare market; page reaches USD 40.56B by 2030: $26bn (2025), MarketsandMarkets - Electronic warfare market (growth, a year): +9.2% (2026–2031 (as stated; page end date is 2030)), MarketsandMarkets - Electronic warfare market: $30bn (2025), ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data) - Electronic warfare market (growth, a year): +6.2% (2025–2030), ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data) - Military aircraft: $61bn (2025), Straits Research - Military aircraft (growth, a year): +4.6% (2026–2034), Straits Research - Military aircraft; USD 67.29B in 2026 and USD 105.24B by 2034: $64bn (2025), Fortune Business Insights - Military aviation; narrower scope or different method: $35bn (2023), Kings Research - Military aviation (growth, a year): +5.5% (2024–2031), Kings Research - Military aircraft engines: $18bn (2025), ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data) - Military aircraft engines (growth, a year): +3.5% (2025–2030), ResearchAndMarkets (The Business Research Company data) - Military aerospace engines: $18bn (2024), Market Reports World - Military aerospace engines (growth, a year): +3.3% (2025–2033), Market Reports World - Military aircraft engines; likely broader scope, reason not stated: $34bn (2025), MarkNtel Advisors - Military aircraft engines (growth, a year): +10% (2026–2032), MarkNtel Advisors - Military satellites; USD 33.73B by 2034: $18bn (2025), Fortune Business Insights - Space militarization, broader than satellites: $62bn (2025), Fortune Business Insights - Space militarization (growth, a year): +7.2% (2026–2034), Fortune Business Insights - Space militarization: $61bn (2025), Straits Research - Space militarization (growth, a year): +7.7% (2026–2034), Straits Research - Space militarization: $60bn (2024), MarkNtel Advisors - Space militarization (growth, a year): +6.6% (2024–2030), MarkNtel Advisors - Naval shipbuilding; value stated for 2036, base year not read: $160bn (2036), Meticulous Research - Naval shipbuilding (growth, a year): +5.4% (2026–2036), Meticulous Research - Total shipbuilding, civil and military combined: $166bn (2025), Fortune Business Insights - Total shipbuilding, civil and military combined (growth, a year): +5.7% (2026–2034), Fortune Business Insights - Total shipbuilding, civil and military combined: $153bn (2025), Kings Research - Total shipbuilding, civil and military combined (growth, a year): +4.1% (2025–2033), Kings Research - Missiles; USD 87.3B by 2032: $56bn (2025), ResearchAndMarkets (Global Industry Analysts) - Missiles (growth, a year): +6.5% (2025–2032), ResearchAndMarkets (Global Industry Analysts) - Precision-guided munitions: $37bn (2025), MarketsandMarkets - Precision-guided munitions (growth, a year): +5.9% (2025–2030), MarketsandMarkets - Ammunition; definition differences with GM Insights unclear: $35bn (2026), MarketsandMarkets - Ammunition (growth, a year): +14% (2026–2031), MarketsandMarkets - Ammunition; definition differences with MarketsandMarkets unclear: $18bn (2025), GM Insights - Ammunition (growth, a year): +4.7% (2026–2035), GM Insights - Military land vehicles; USD 26.65B in 2024: $28bn (2025), Straits Research - Military land vehicles (growth, a year): +3.2% (2025–2033), Straits Research - Military land vehicles: $26bn (2023), Spherical Insights - Military land vehicles; same rate as Straits Research, so possibly not independent (growth, a year): +3.2% (2025–2033), Spherical Insights - Unmanned ground vehicles: $3.0bn (2024), market.us - Unmanned ground vehicles (growth, a year): +7.8% (2024–2034), market.us Estimates diverge mainly because vendors define scope differently: C4ISR figures agree closely, while electronic warfare, military aero engines, ammunition and space militarization vary widely. SIPRI spending is a demand proxy, not a market size, and figures overlap across segments, so they should not be summed. ### What is Defense Supercycle? Defense electronics, aircraft, missiles and munitions, ships, ground vehicles and the industrial base. ### What does Defense Supercycle hold? Listed companies that earn their revenue from the parts it takes to build Defense Supercycle: C4ISR / Electronics, Prime / Platform OEM Sleeve, Aircraft, Space, Shipbuilding, Missiles / Munitions. 44 companies as of 2026-10-28. ### What is not in Defense Supercycle? Prime contractor integrated platform programs: Prime / Platform OEM Sleeve, not Aircraft, Shipbuilding, Missiles / Munitions or Space; single-domain pure plays stay in their domain bucket Airborne radar, electronic warfare and avionics sold as subsystems: C4ISR / Electronics, not Aircraft Complete military aero engines and engine modules: Aircraft, not Industrial Base; raw castings, forgings and specialty metals sold to engine makers: Industrial Base, not Aircraft ## What it is not - Prime contractor integrated platform programs: Prime / Platform OEM Sleeve, not Aircraft, Shipbuilding, Missiles / Munitions or Space; single-domain pure plays stay in their domain bucket - Airborne radar, electronic warfare and avionics sold as subsystems: C4ISR / Electronics, not Aircraft - Complete military aero engines and engine modules: Aircraft, not Industrial Base; raw castings, forgings and specialty metals sold to engine makers: Industrial Base, not Aircraft - Solid rocket motors: Missiles / Munitions, not Space; liquid or launch vehicle propulsion for satellites: Space, not Missiles / Munitions - Interceptors and munitions: Missiles / Munitions, not C4ISR / Electronics; fire control and sensor radars: C4ISR / Electronics, not Missiles / Munitions; Space based sensors and tracking layers: Space, not C4ISR / Electronics - Satellite buses, launch and on orbit Space systems: Space, not C4ISR / Electronics; ground terminals and ground based communications: C4ISR / Electronics, not Space - Shipboard combat systems, sonar and radar: C4ISR / Electronics, not Shipbuilding; hull, propulsion and ship integration: Shipbuilding, not C4ISR / Electronics - Armour, turrets and vehicle integrated weapon stations: Ground Vehicles, not Industrial Base; ammunition and guided munitions: Missiles / Munitions, not Ground Vehicles - Defense electronics components: C4ISR / Electronics, not Industrial Base; mechanical castings, forgings and metals: Industrial Base, not C4ISR / Electronics - Unmanned aerial systems: Aircraft, not Missiles / Munitions; loitering munitions: Missiles / Munitions, not Aircraft; unmanned ground and naval vessels follow Ground Vehicles and Shipbuilding - Airframe structures and assemblies: Aircraft, not Industrial Base; raw forgings and specialty metals: Industrial Base, not Aircraft - Program development and embedded software: follow the product the contract delivers, not C4ISR / Electronics, applied to all buckets alike Data as of 2026-10-28. Source: ThematIQ (industry research, company filings, exchange data), ETFIQ (fund counts), and the publishers linked above. Not investment advice.