A new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the Defense Department recorded $296 billion in contract obligations in fiscal year 2016, up from $278 billion in FY 2015.
CSIS said in the March 2017 report the figures reflect a 7 percent increase in defense contract obligations in 2016.
The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency all experienced “significant†hikes in FY 2016 contract obligations due to acquisition programs such as Trident II missiles, KC-45A aerial refueling aircraft and C-130J transport planes, according to the report.
CSIS noted that the U.S. Army’s contract obligations were “virtually stable†from 2015 through 2016 at $74 billion.
The report also showed that large defense vendors comprised 30 to 34 percent of the Pentagon’s contract obligations from 2009 through 2015 and small defense contractors accounted for 19 percent of obligations between 2014 and 2015.
The big five defense companies’ share of DoD’s contract obligations for research and development dropped from 57 percent in 2009 to 29 percent in 2016, CSIS added.
