The world used to be simpler for defense contractors. For most of the industry’s history, companies did business primarily with their own country’s military and the governments of close allies. This was especially true of the large aerospace and defense (A&D) companies in the United States and Europe.
Until the 2000s, large defense contractors were the norm in this industry, adapting their business directly to their home country’s military and relying on just a few international exports. In effect, they were big fish in a very clearly defined pond. They had a small number of specialized customers with large budgets and highly specialized means of selling to them.
