Short answer
The Huntsville metro had 20 aerospace product and parts manufacturing establishments in 2023, employing 5,585 people on a $603 million payroll (Census County Business Patterns); 18 are in Madison County. That's a small slice of the local industry: federal contracts performed in the metro topped $12.7 billion in fiscal 2025, led by research and engineering services. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Dynetics and SAIC were the largest recipients.
- 20 aerospace manufacturing establishments and 5,585 employees in 2023; average pay $107,931.
- Engineering services firms in the metro employ 19,000 people, more than three times aerospace manufacturing.
- Federal contract obligations performed in the metro exceeded $12.7 billion in fiscal 2025; R&D services alone were $4.54 billion.
- No SEC-listed aerospace company is headquartered in Huntsville; the primes run sites there from elsewhere.
On this page
This page is for people researching Huntsville's aerospace companies: engineers and job seekers, suppliers and partners, and sellers whose customers work on Army, Missile Defense Agency and NASA programs. It's shorter than our larger metro reports because the Census manufacturing count here is small. We give that count, point to the state figure, and then show the data that describes the market better.
The manufacturing count
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, NAICS 3364 (Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing), Huntsville, AL Metro Area (CBSA 26620):
| Measure (2023) | Huntsville metro |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 20 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 5,585 |
| Annual payroll | $602,795,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 279.2 |
| Average annual pay | $107,931 |
| Share of US establishments | 1.05% of 1,901 |
Madison County has 18 of the 20 establishments and 5,173 of the jobs; Limestone County has the rest. The Census Bureau publishes only some size classes here: 3 establishments have 1 to 4 employees, 6 have 10 to 19, 3 have 100 to 249 and 3 have 250 to 499. The other cells are withheld.
By code, 5 establishments are aircraft manufacturers (2,060 employees), 3 make space vehicle propulsion units and parts (1,385 employees) and 9 make other aircraft parts, with an employee figure the Bureau flags as high-noise. For the state, the same dataset counts 42 aerospace manufacturing establishments and 10,632 employees in Alabama, so Huntsville has about half of both.
Where the industry really is
CBP classes each location by its main activity, and Huntsville's main activity is engineering. The same dataset shows:
| Industry in the Huntsville metro (CBP 2023) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering services (541330) | 312 | 19,000 |
| Aerospace product and parts manufacturing (3364) | 20 | 5,585 |
| Navigation and guidance instruments (334511) | 5 | 2,210 |
Federal contract data confirms it. USAspending shows more than $12.7 billion of contract obligations in fiscal 2025 with the Huntsville metro as the place of performance: $10.38 billion from the Department of Defense and $1.86 billion from NASA. By the NAICS code on the contract:
| Contract NAICS code | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|
| R&D in physical, engineering and life sciences (541715) | $4,536.0 million |
| Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing (336414) | $2,248.2 million |
| Engineering services (541330) | $1,233.9 million |
| R&D in physical and engineering sciences (541712) | $1,150.5 million |
| Other aircraft parts and equipment (336413) | $938.1 million |
The largest recipients across all codes, as named in the record:
| Recipient | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin | $1,614.1 million |
| The Boeing Company | $1,476.7 million |
| Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | $891.9 million |
| Dynetics | $632.1 million |
| Science Applications International Corporation | $595.4 million |
| Torch Technologies | $573.5 million |
| Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation | $519.2 million |
Contract records place each award where the work is reported to happen and don't show subcontracts, so treat the amounts as a guide to who is busy, not a measure of local headcount.
Who's there, from their own filings
No SEC-listed aerospace company has its headquarters in the metro. The primes' 2025 10-K filings name Huntsville as a major location: Boeing for Defense, Space & Security; Lockheed Martin for its Space segment; and Northrop Grumman for Defense Systems (Huntsville and Madison) and Space Systems. The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber describes Redstone Arsenal as a 38,000-acre federal installation home to more than 70 organizations, including the US Army, NASA and the FBI, and Cummings Research Park as the second-largest research park in the US, with more than 300 companies.
Selling to Huntsville aerospace companies
Most of the buying here happens at engineering and technical services firms, not plants. A few practical points:
- Find them by contract, not by industry code. Search USAspending for awards performed in Madison County and read the recipients' NAICS codes; many will be 541715 or 541330.
- Expect security and compliance gates. Contractors handling controlled unclassified information need the CMMC level in their contract, and Phase 2, when DoD intends to require third-party Level 2 certification on applicable contracts, starts on 10 November 2026. Manufacturers of defense articles must register under ITAR (22 CFR 122.1).
- Map the program, then the person. Engineering firms here staff to specific Army and NASA programs, so the program manager and the contracts lead matter as much as procurement. See how to find decision makers and selling to government.
Bebop can find companies from a description such as "engineering firms in Madison County supporting Army missile programs with 50 to 500 employees" and explain why each one fits.
Local sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Huntsville/Madison County Chamber, metro economy | Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park and regional data |
| Alabama Secretary of State business entity records | Entity status for Alabama companies |
| USAspending | Awards by recipient and place of performance |
| SAM.gov | Contractor registrations, NAICS codes and CAGE codes |
Next step: for the wider Huntsville business base, read the report on companies in Huntsville.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Advanced Search: prime contract obligations, FY2025, place of performance Madison and Limestone counties, Alabama, USAspending.gov, US Department of the Treasury, accessed 30 October 2026
- Metro Economy, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber (ASmartPlace), accessed 30 October 2026
- The Boeing Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Item 2, Properties), US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 30 January 2026
- Lockheed Martin Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Item 2, Properties), US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 29 January 2026
- Northrop Grumman Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Item 2, Properties), US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 27 January 2026
- 32 CFR 170.3, CMMC Program applicability and implementation phases, US Government Publishing Office (govinfo), 1 July 2025 edition
- DFARS: Assessing Contractor Implementation of Cybersecurity Requirements (final rule), Federal Register, via govinfo, 10 September 2025
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many aerospace companies are in Huntsville?
Census County Business Patterns counted 20 aerospace product and parts manufacturing establishments in the Huntsville metro in 2023, employing 5,585 people, 18 of them in Madison County. Far more aerospace work is done by engineering and research firms: the same data counts 312 engineering services establishments with 19,000 employees, many of them working on Army, missile defense and NASA programs.
What are the biggest aerospace companies in Huntsville?
By fiscal 2025 federal contract obligations performed in the Huntsville metro, the largest recipients were Lockheed Martin ($1.61 billion), Boeing ($1.48 billion), Northrop Grumman ($892 million), Dynetics, SAIC, Torch Technologies and Intuitive Research and Technology. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all list Huntsville as a major location in their 2025 10-K filings.
What is Redstone Arsenal's role in Huntsville aerospace?
It anchors the market. Redstone Arsenal, a 38,000-acre federal installation, hosts more than 70 organizations including the US Army, NASA and the FBI, according to the local chamber. In fiscal 2025, $2.25 billion of federal contracts performed in the metro were coded to guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing, according to USAspending.
How much do aerospace jobs in Huntsville pay?
Aerospace manufacturing establishments in the Huntsville metro paid $602.8 million in 2023 to 5,585 employees, an average of $107,931, according to Census County Business Patterns. Engineering services, the larger employer, paid its 19,000 local employees an average of $119,523 (our calculation from the same dataset). The figures blend all roles and use employment in the week of March 12.