Special Report

This Is the Largest Defense Contractor in Kentucky

Samuel Stebbins

Published: September 15, 2023 8:36 am

The U.S. defense budget topped $850 billion in fiscal 2022, more than the combined military spending of the next 10 countries combined. This money goes to fund a wide range of obligations, from operations to payroll for troops and civilian defense personnel. The bulk of the U.S. military budget, however, is spent on contracts with companies in the private sector.

The Defense Department does more business through private contracts than all other federal agencies combined. The Pentagon relies on contractors for services including research and development, weapon systems procurement, facility maintenance, and equipment repair. Outsourcing to third parties in the private sector allows the government to more rapidly and effectively adapt to changing circumstances and needs – though reliance on contractors also raises the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse.

The latest available government data shows that the Pentagon spent $10.6 billion on private sector contracts in Kentucky in 2021. No company in the state received more federal defense dollars that year than Humana, which brought in $7.1 billion in military contracts – or 67.2% of all contractor spending in the state.

Other major defense contractors operating in Kentucky include Walsh-Turner, JV II, Lockheed Martin, and Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, JV, which received $840.1 million, $619.9 million, and $373.2 million, respectively, in 2021.

All data in this story is from the Defense Department’s report, Defense Spending By State Fiscal Year 2021.