Defense News publishes its list of top 100 defense firms by revenue and looks at any impacts from a drop in defense spend: “The decline in defense spending by a block of nations in Europe and the US hasn’t been catastrophic, but it’s making its presence felt on this year’s Defense News Top 100 list.”

“The sum of defense revenue from this year’s batch of companies is down more than US $13 billion compared with last year, a 3 percent decline that doesn’t factor in the additional cost of inflation. The 2013 list marks the second consecutive decline, with a 1 percent reduction for 2011 revenues compared with 2010.”

“That’s not a surprise to most analysts, as the US Defense Department picked up the pace of its cost cutting in 2012, and several European countries facing their own economic pressures did the same. But while defense revenue numbers weren’t good, total revenue remained strong, increasing by 3 percent.”