The business of military contracting is booming in Southern California.
The total value of defense contracts won by companies in Los Angeles County more than doubled in the last 10 years after adjusting for inflation, according to an analysis by The Markup and CalMatters. In the same period, the defense budget rose by about 19% in adjusted dollars.
The $15 billion in contracts won in LA County last year went largely to old-school defense contractors with headquarters elsewhere, like Boeing. But startups claimed a growing share of the pie, selling defense systems like low-cost missiles, drones, surveillance satellites, AI tools and much more. In 2025, 10 startups in the LA area were crowned “unicorns,” becoming companies valued by investments at more than $1 billion, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. Most of those 10 companies were aerospace or defense businesses…