Industry Sector: Defense and Aerospace

Fairfax County is home to some of the biggest names in the defense and aerospace industry. These companies focus on C3 (command, control and communications) and C4ISR (computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) as well as systems engineering, research and development, cybersecurity and homeland security.

One reason is our proximity, which gives companies instant access to leading customers in the federal government and Pentagon as well as business-to-business partners. Fairfax County also provides the necessary workforce, with hundreds of thousands employed in science and engineering occupations in the Washington, D.C., area., including a large pool of candidates with security clearance and an abundance of retired and former military personnel.

Fairfax County is the leader in supplying technology, ideas and the hardware to keep our country safe. Year after year more federal procurement dollars are awarded to companies in Fairfax County than any other locality in the nation, including billions of dollars in defense-related contracts.

Government agencies headquartered in the county include the CIA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office and Fort Belvoir.

By the way, we’re home to the largest number of veteran-owned businesses in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington, D.C., area. Download our fact sheets about the defense and aerospace sector in Fairfax County, and federal procurement here, to learn more.