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About General Atomics

Founded in 1955 as a General Dynamics division and acquired by the Blue family in 1986, it is a separate company from today’s General Dynamics. General Atomics and its affiliates work in unmanned aircraft, sensors, electromagnetic systems, power conversion, nuclear technology and fusion research. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems supplies remotely piloted aircraft and mission systems, while Electromagnetic Systems develops naval aircraft launch and recovery equipment and other advanced capabilities. Its research and commercial work extends beyond DoD. The corporate group and operating affiliates should be identified separately when attributing aircraft production, employment and awards.

Federal Prime Contracts$42.08B obligated · FY2008–FY2026

Obligated
$42.08B
FY2008–FY2026
Contract actions
13,575
1,468 awards
Peak year
FY2019
$3.42B
Top buyer
U.S. Air Force
47% of obligations
Obligations by fiscal yearLast 5 full years avg $2.25BFaded: FY2026 so far; DoD publishes actions about 90 days late.
FY2008: $1.13B · 434 actionsFY2009: $1.40B · 453 actionsFY2010: $1.86B · 635 actionsFY2011: $2.06B · 616 actionsFY2012: $2.47B · 637 actionsFY2013: $2.15B · 618 actionsFY2014: $1.63B · 682 actionsFY2015: $2.37B · 723 actionsFY2016: $1.88B · 873 actionsFY2017: $2.66B · 791 actionsFY2018: $2.80B · 717 actionsFY2019: $3.42B · 770 actionsFY2020: $2.31B · 780 actionsFY2021: $2.21B · 864 actionsFY2022: $2.17B · 924 actionsFY2023: $2.25B · 827 actionsFY2024: $2.56B · 798 actionsFY2025: $2.04B · 820 actionsFY2026 (to date): $2.69B · 613 actions
’08’12’16’20’24’26
Show as table
Obligations by fiscal year
Fiscal yearObligatedActionsAwards
FY2026 (to date)$2.69B613294
FY2025$2.04B820304
FY2024$2.56B798314
FY2023$2.25B827315
FY2022$2.17B924374
FY2021$2.21B864329
FY2020$2.31B780260
FY2019$3.42B770234
FY2018$2.80B717189
FY2017$2.66B791214
FY2016$1.88B873250
FY2015$2.37B723179
FY2014$1.63B682175
FY2013$2.15B618164
FY2012$2.47B637165
FY2011$2.06B616175
FY2010$1.86B635167
FY2009$1.40B453159
FY2008$1.13B434147

Defense programs

  1. MQ-9 Reaper$6.64B 16%
  2. MQ-1C GRAY EAGLE$5.58B 13%
  3. TACTICAL UAV$3.17B 7.5%
  4. Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier (CVN 78)$551M 1.3%
  5. JTUAV$157M 0.4%
  6. PREDATOR$107M 0.3%
  7. MDA SUPPORT$87.1M 0.2%
  8. AIRBORNE RECON LOW (ARL)$12.6M 0.0%
  9. AAG$2.4M 0.0%
  10. HAEUAV$1.0M 0.0%
  11. MQ-9 RPA SOC$873K 0.0%
  12. GCSS-A$40K 0.0%
  13. OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS$0 0.0%
  14. 3DAA−$6K -0.0%
  15. 1000−$29K -0.0%
  16. All other−$744K -0.0%

Only actions coded to a DoD acquisition program.

What they sell (PSC)

  1. Unmanned Aircraft$14.17B 34%
  2. Support- Professional: Engineering/Technical$5.35B 13%
  3. Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment- Aircraft and Airframe Structural Components$3.89B 9.3%
  4. Aircraft Launching Equipment$3.57B 8.5%
  5. Support- Management: Logistics Support$2.99B 7.1%
  6. Aircraft, Fixed Wing$2.78B 6.6%
  7. Aircraft Landing Equipment$1.36B 3.2%
  8. Miscellaneous Aircraft Accessories and Components$1.24B 3.0%
  9. Miscellaneous Communication Equipment$731M 1.7%
  10. National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense - Military; Experimental Development$475M 1.1%
  11. Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment- Weapons$376M 0.9%
  12. Airframe Structural Components$358M 0.9%
  13. General Science and Technology R&D Services; General Science and Technology; Applied Research$347M 0.8%
  14. National Defense R&D Services; Atomic Energy Defense Activities; Experimental Development$342M 0.8%
  15. Hardware, Weapon System$335M 0.8%
  16. All other$3.76B 8.9%

Industry (NAICS)

  1. Aircraft Manufacturing$22.13B 53%
  2. Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing$6.41B 15%
  3. Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing$3.30B 7.8%
  4. Other Support Activities for Air Transportation$2.84B 6.7%
  5. Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing$1.98B 4.7%
  6. Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)$1.16B 2.8%
  7. Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services$984M 2.3%
  8. Engineering Services$782M 1.9%
  9. Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Biotechnology)$775M 1.8%
  10. Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences$657M 1.6%
  11. All other$1.07B 2.5%

Where the work is done

  1. California$41.84B 99%
  2. Nevada$82.5M 0.2%
  3. Mississippi$81.6M 0.2%
  4. Maryland$29.3M 0.1%
  5. North Carolina$28.6M 0.1%
  6. Utah$11.7M 0.0%
  7. New Hampshire$3.1M 0.0%
  8. Virginia$2.3M 0.0%
  9. Georgia$1.3M 0.0%
  10. Alabama$1.0M 0.0%
  11. New Jersey$943K 0.0%
  12. Hawaii$757K 0.0%
  13. Oklahoma$407K 0.0%
  14. Arizona$355K 0.0%
  15. Outside the US$133K 0.0%
  16. All other−$2.7M -0.0%

Contract pricing

  1. Cost Plus Fixed Fee$17.80B 42%
  2. Firm Fixed Price$12.45B 30%
  3. Cost Plus Incentive Fee$6.26B 15%
  4. Fixed Price Incentive$4.43B 11%
  5. Cost Plus Award Fee$541M 1.3%
  6. Cost No Fee$402M 1.0%
  7. Time and Materials$177M 0.4%
  8. Combination (Applies to Awards Where Two or More of the Above Apply)$17.2M 0.0%
  9. All other$1.3M 0.0%

Competition

  1. Not Competed$35.41B 84%
  2. Not Available for Competition$3.54B 8.4%
  3. Full and Open Competition$2.77B 6.6%
  4. Full and Open Competition After Exclusion of Sources$302M 0.7%
  5. Follow on to Competed Action$20.3M 0.0%
  6. Competed Under SAP$13.3M 0.0%
  7. Not Competed Under SAP$8.7M 0.0%
  8. Competitive Delivery Order$4.5M 0.0%
  9. All other$148K 0.0%

Largest awards10

Signed obligations on federal prime contracts (award types A–D) from USAspending, FY2008 through Oct 9, 2026. Obligations are money the government committed, not company revenue, and include de-obligations. Subcontracts and grants are excluded. Matching is by registered UEI. “Including subsidiaries” adds our listed subsidiaries (from their acquisition date, where known) and actions whose reported parent is this company.

View all 1,468 awards →

Systems1

Newest unveiled first. Open a system for its milestone timeline, components and sources.

Capabilities4

  • Developer
    Publicly described capabilities; no product-wide maturity or TRL inferred.
    —Confirmed
  • Developer
    Publicly described capabilities; no product-wide maturity or TRL inferred.
    —Confirmed
  • Developer
    Publicly described capabilities; no product-wide maturity or TRL inferred.
    —Confirmed
  • Developer
    Publicly described capabilities; no product-wide maturity or TRL inferred.
    —Confirmed

Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.

Supply Chain3 facilities

Facilities3

  • San Diego headquarters
    Headquarters · San Diego, California, United States
    Operating
    Confirmed
  • DIII-D National Fusion Facility
    Lab · San Diego, California, United States
    Operating
    Magnetic-confinement fusion research facility operated by General Atomics for the U.S. Department of Energy. Source ↗
    Confirmed
  • Magnet Technologies Center
    Factory · Poway, California, United States
    Operating
    Designs and fabricates low-temperature and high-temperature superconducting magnets, including components for large fusion projects. Source ↗
    Confirmed

Hiring Observations

Official careers and open roles ↗

Use the official careers site for current openings and application requirements.

Sources7

Profile1

  1. 1

    Defense News · Aug 26, 2026 · Supports Organization

    “tistic rendering depicts GA-TES at a notional military installation. (General Atomics)”

Systems2

  1. 2

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Dec 18, 2025 · Supports System

    “116 ADVANCED ARRESTING 4,484 4,484 GEAR (AAG).”
  2. 3

    Naval Air Systems Command · Supports System · description, System · organization

    “AAG is a modular, integrated system installed aboard USS Gerald R. Ford and designed as the follow-on to the Mark-7 arresting gear.”

Technologies1

  1. 4

    Supports Organization, Organization technology

    “GA is the principal private sector participant in fusion research through its internationally recognized”

Supply chain3

  1. 5

    www.ga.com · Supports Facility

  2. 6

    Supports Facility

    “San Diego”
  3. 7

    www.ga.com · Supports Facility

Government identifiers1

UEI
YX6EL4J1WLP9
confirmed · Checked Oct 10, 2026
Source ↗

Identifiers are matched to this legal entity; related companies may hold different registrations.

Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.