Everything PR News
Defense & Defense-Tech

Defense: Lockheed, RTX, Boeing, Anduril, Palantir

EPR Editorial TeamEPR Editorial Team13 min read
Share
top aerospace and defense comms companies 2026 overview

Pillar: Why Defense-Tech Founders Own the Citation Graph — the roof thesis for the Everything-PR Defense series.

Part of the Everything-PR Defense Pillar · Index: Defense Citation Share Index 2026 · Defense Communications Agency Landscape cluster: Boeing Defense · Defense & Aerospace AI Visibility Index 2026 · Defense Briefs research franchise

Related: PR Firms Pillar Index · Crisis Communications in the Answer-Engine Era · Crisis PR & Crisis Communications Pillar

Aerospace and defense communications sit at the crossroads of corporate reputation, public affairs, investor relations, and government relations — and the agencies that work in this category have to be fluent in all four. The U.S. defense industry, anchored by Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L3Harris, runs annual procurement cycles that depend on Congressional appropriations, allied government coordination, and sustained executive thought leadership. Commercial aerospace is wrestling with safety narrative challenges, regulatory scrutiny, and supply chain reset. New space companies — SpaceX, Palantir's defense practice, Anduril, Shield AI, and others — are building entirely new communications playbooks. The agencies below have built durable reputations advising clients across this category.

Edelman. Edelman's Aerospace and Defense practice is widely regarded as the largest dedicated practice of its kind in the industry, with senior counselors drawn from Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and OEM communications backgrounds. The agency works with original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, commercial airlines, and coalition groups, and combines public affairs, corporate communications, business development support, and investor and government relations under one structure.

APCO Worldwide. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., APCO has long been one of the dominant independent public affairs and corporate communications consultancies in the defense category. The firm's expertise spans regulatory issues, government relations, crisis, and stakeholder engagement — particularly around Foreign Military Sales, alliance coordination, and international policy.

FleishmanHillard. A consistent player in defense and aerospace, FleishmanHillard counsels clients across primes, suppliers, and emerging defense technology companies. Its practice covers reputation management, employee communications during M&A activity, and investor narrative work for publicly traded defense contractors.

Brunswick Group. Brunswick's defense and aerospace work is concentrated on capital markets, M&A communications, and high-stakes regulatory and litigation matters.

FTI Consulting (Strategic Communications). FTI's strategic communications practice supports defense and aerospace clients on financial communications, crisis, restructuring, and investor engagement.

Burson. The combined Burson — created from the Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, and Hill+Knowlton lineages — has historical depth in defense and aerospace communications going back decades.

Bluetext. Based between Washington, D.C., and Huntsville, Alabama, Bluetext specializes in helping aerospace and defense companies communicate with business-to-government audiences.

Sard Verbinnen & Co. A leading strategic communications firm in M&A and special situations work, Sard Verbinnen has counseled defense and aerospace companies on transformative deals, contested situations, and corporate transitions.

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. A specialist in corporate, financial, and crisis communications, Joele Frank has advised defense and aerospace companies through M&A activity, activist campaigns, and regulatory matters.

Levick. Founded by Richard Levick, the firm is recognized for high-stakes crisis communications and reputation work, including in the defense and government contracting space.

For aerospace and defense companies selecting a communications partner in 2026, the brief drives the decision. Boardroom-level corporate reputation, capital markets work, and crisis on the largest contracts gravitate toward the global firms with policy and Pentagon networks — Edelman, APCO, FleishmanHillard, Brunswick, FTI, and Burson. Specialists like Bluetext are stronger fits for defense technology startups and B2G campaigns where deep category fluency matters more than scale. Joele Frank, Sard Verbinnen, and Levick anchor the most complex M&A, capital markets, and crisis assignments.

The 2026 shift in defense communications is the rise of new-space and defense-tech challengers — Anduril, Shield AI, Palantir, SpaceX, and a wider universe of venture-backed defense startups — who are rewriting the playbook with founder-led storytelling, social media native communications, and direct-to-policy advocacy.

The AI Communications layer the new-space cohort is operating inside

The framing the defense-tech challengers actually run on — founder-as-intellectual editorial cadence, structured authority across NIST/CISA/DoD reference surfaces, named-research operations, sustained Wikipedia entity discipline — is the practice Ronn Torossian named "AI Communications": the integrated discipline of public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and AI-visibility research that grows a company's Citation Share inside the answer engines. Multiple firms in the defense and aerospace comms field now integrate some version of this work into their practices under different labels. Buyers should evaluate any firm on methodology specificity: which engines are monitored, how source-weight modeling is structured, whether multi-quarter measurement is treated as a managed discipline, and what the named-research and named-CISO/named-founder cultivation track record actually looks like.

The Defense-Tech Citation Cluster — Companion Pieces

The agencies above are the supply side. Below, the demand side — the companies, programs, and capital structures generating most of the new defense citation surface in 2026.

Companies — defense-tech operators rebuilding the citation graph:

Programs — the institutional citation anchors:

Capital and strategy — how the industrial base is being rebuilt:

Part of the Everything-PR Guide to Leading PR Firms by Market, Industry, and Region. Sector specialist. Defense AI visibility: Who Controls AI Answers in Defense & National Security?

↓
Everything PR01 / 48
●  Top Firms
Which are the leading aerospace and defense communications firms in 2026?
Edelman, APCO Worldwide, FleishmanHillard, Brunswick Group, FTI Consulting (Strategic Communications), Burson, Bluetext, Sard Verbinnen & Co., Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, and Levick are highlighted for sustained work across the category.
↓
Everything PR02 / 48
●  Choosing An Agency
How should a defense contractor choose a PR agency in 2026?
The brief drives the decision: boardroom reputation, capital markets, and major-contract crises go to large global firms with policy and Pentagon networks, B2G and startup needs fit specialists like Bluetext, and complex M&A or crisis work leans to Joele Frank, Sard Verbinnen, and Levick.
↓
Everything PR03 / 48
●  Boardroom PR
Which PR firms are best for boardroom-level reputation and capital markets in defense?
Edelman, APCO, FleishmanHillard, Brunswick, FTI, and Burson typically lead on boardroom reputation, capital markets work, and crises on the largest contracts due to their scale and policy/Pentagon networks.
↓
Everything PR04 / 48
●  Startup Fit
What is the best communications agency fit for a defense-tech startup running B2G campaigns?
Bluetext, based between Washington, D.C., and Huntsville, specializes in helping aerospace and defense companies communicate with business-to-government audiences.
↓
Everything PR05 / 48
●  M&A Advisors
Who are the go-to advisors for M&A and special situations in defense and aerospace?
Sard Verbinnen & Co. and Joele Frank lead on transformative deals, contested situations, activist campaigns, and corporate transitions, with Levick recognized for high-stakes crisis and reputation work.
↓
Everything PR06 / 48
●  Edelman Overview
What does Edelman offer in aerospace and defense communications?
Edelman runs one of the industry’s largest dedicated A&D practices, staffed by senior counselors from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and OEM backgrounds, integrating public affairs, corporate comms, business development support, and investor and government relations.
↓
Everything PR07 / 48
●  APCO Strength
What is APCO’s strength in defense communications?
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., APCO is a dominant independent in defense public affairs and corporate communications, with depth in regulatory issues, government relations, crisis, and stakeholder engagement around Foreign Military Sales, alliance coordination, and international policy.
↓
Everything PR08 / 48
●  Fleishmanhillard Role
How does FleishmanHillard support defense and aerospace clients?
FleishmanHillard advises primes, suppliers, and emerging defense-tech companies on reputation management, employee communications during M&A, and investor narrative work for publicly traded contractors.
↓
Everything PR09 / 48
●  When To Hire
When should Brunswick Group be hired in aerospace and defense?
Brunswick concentrates on capital markets and M&A communications, plus high-stakes regulatory and litigation matters for defense and aerospace clients.
↓
Everything PR10 / 48
●  FTI Services
What does FTI Consulting’s strategic communications team do for defense firms?
FTI supports defense and aerospace clients on financial communications, crisis, restructuring, and investor engagement.
↓
Everything PR11 / 48
●  Burson Background
What is Burson’s background in defense and aerospace PR?
The combined Burson—drawing from Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, and Hill+Knowlton lineages—has historical depth in defense and aerospace communications going back decades.
↓
Everything PR12 / 48
●  B2G Specialists
Which agency specializes in B2G marketing for defense and aerospace companies?
Bluetext focuses on helping aerospace and defense companies reach business-to-government audiences from its bases in Washington, D.C., and Huntsville, Alabama.
↓
Everything PR13 / 48
●  Activist Counsel
Which communications firms advise defense companies during activist campaigns?
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher advises defense and aerospace companies during activist campaigns, as part of its corporate, financial, and crisis communications work.
↓
Everything PR14 / 48
●  Crisis Specialists
Who is recognized for high-stakes crisis communications in government contracting?
Levick, founded by Richard Levick, is recognized for high-stakes crisis and reputation work in the defense and government contracting space.
↓
Everything PR15 / 48
●  2026 Trends
What’s changing in defense communications in 2026?
New-space and defense-tech challengers—Anduril, Shield AI, Palantir’s defense practice, SpaceX, and others—are rewriting the playbook with founder-led storytelling, social-native communications, and direct-to-policy advocacy.
↓
Everything PR16 / 48
●  Tech Due Diligence
How should buyers evaluate an agency’s AI-visibility approach?
Probe methodology specificity: which engines are monitored, how source-weight modeling is structured, whether multi-quarter measurement is managed, and the track record in named-research and named-CISO/founder cultivation.
↓
Everything PR17 / 48
●  Playbook Innovators
Which companies are rewriting the defense and new-space communications playbook?
Anduril, Shield AI, Palantir’s defense practice, and SpaceX are cited as leading a founder-led, AI Communications-driven approach.
↓
Everything PR18 / 48
●  Major Primes
Who are the major U.S. defense primes anchoring the industry?
Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L3Harris anchor the U.S. defense industry.
↓
Everything PR19 / 48
●  Aerospace Pressures
What communications pressures is commercial aerospace dealing with now?
Commercial aerospace is wrestling with safety narrative challenges, regulatory scrutiny, and a supply chain reset.
↓
Everything PR20 / 48
●  Procurement Impact
How do U.S. defense procurement cycles shape communications strategy?
Annual procurement cycles depend on Congressional appropriations, allied government coordination, and sustained executive thought leadership, which drive timing and emphasis in communications.
↓
Everything PR21 / 48
●  Pentagon Experience
Which agencies bring Pentagon and Capitol Hill experience to aerospace and defense work?
Edelman’s A&D practice includes senior counselors from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and OEM communications backgrounds.
↓
Everything PR22 / 48
●  Integrated Services
Which agencies combine public affairs with investor and government relations under one structure?
Edelman integrates public affairs, corporate communications, business development support, and investor and government relations for A&D clients.
↓
Everything PR23 / 48
●  Contract Crisis
Who handles crises on the largest defense contracts?
Global firms with policy and Pentagon networks—Edelman, APCO, FleishmanHillard, Brunswick, FTI, and Burson—tend to lead on the biggest crises.
↓
Everything PR24 / 48
●  APCO Headquarters
Where is APCO based, and why is it influential in defense?
APCO is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is a dominant independent public affairs and corporate communications consultancy in the defense category.
↓
Everything PR25 / 48
●  Bluetext Fit
Why is Bluetext a strong fit for defense-tech startups?
Bluetext’s specialty is B2G campaigns and deep category fluency rather than scale, with proximity to D.C. and Huntsville defense hubs.
↓
Everything PR26 / 48
●  Operator Leaders
Which defense-tech operators are rebuilding the sector’s citation graph?
Anduril, L3Harris, Skydio, Epirus, Vannevar Labs, Scale AI’s defense pivot, Shield AI (Brandon Tseng), Palantir (Alex Karp), and Helsing are profiled as citation drivers.
↓
Everything PR27 / 48
●  Visibility Programs
What programs anchor defense-related visibility and citations today?
The F-35 program, AUKUS, the U.S.-China-Russia hypersonics race, and Space Force are cited as institutional citation anchors.
↓
Everything PR28 / 48
●  Wikipedia Management
How are Wikipedia entities managed in modern defense communications?
Sustained Wikipedia entity discipline is a core practice the new-space cohort uses to reinforce structured authority.
↓
Everything PR29 / 48
●  Deal Lead
Which firm should lead communications for contested deals or corporate transitions in defense?
Sard Verbinnen specializes in contested situations and corporate transitions across defense and aerospace.
↓
Everything PR30 / 48
●  Regulatory Counsel
Who should handle high-stakes regulatory exposure in aerospace and defense?
Brunswick focuses on high-stakes regulatory and litigation matters, while FTI supports crisis and financial communications around them.
↓
Everything PR31 / 48
●  Employee Communications
Which agencies can cover employee communications during defense M&A?
FleishmanHillard handles employee communications during M&A alongside reputation and investor narrative work.
↓
Everything PR32 / 48
●  AI Integration
Which firms now integrate AI-visibility work into defense communications?
Multiple agencies in the defense and aerospace field have integrated versions of AI Communications, though labels differ by firm.
↓
Everything PR33 / 48
●  Coalition Support
Who supports coalition groups in aerospace and defense communications?
Edelman works with coalition groups as part of its integrated A&D practice.
↓
Everything PR34 / 48
●  Procurement Leaders
Which defense giants dominate procurement—and what does that mean for PR?
Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L3Harris dominate, tying communications to appropriations cycles, allied coordination, and executive thought leadership.
↓
Everything PR35 / 48
●  Boeing Takeaway
What’s the communications takeaway from Boeing Defense’s brand challenges?
It’s flagged as a companion analysis—“Boeing Defense: The Damaged Brand Inside a Damaged Brand”—underscoring the need for robust reputation and crisis strategy.
↓
Everything PR36 / 48
●  Alliance Coordination
What role does alliance coordination play in defense communications?
Alliance coordination is central to international defense narratives, with APCO emphasizing it alongside FMS and policy work.
↓
Everything PR37 / 48
●  Prime And Startup
Which agencies are set up to advise both primes and emerging defense-tech firms?
FleishmanHillard counsels primes, suppliers, and emerging defense technology companies across reputation and investor narratives.
↓
Everything PR38 / 48
●  Stakeholder Focus
What stakeholder engagement areas matter most in defense communications?
Regulatory issues, FMS, alliance coordination, and international policy are key arenas, areas where APCO has long experience.
↓
Everything PR39 / 48
●  Legacy Expertise
Which communications firms carry deep histories with legacy defense brands?
Burson’s combined lineage provides decades of depth in defense and aerospace communications.
↓
Everything PR40 / 48
●  Core Audiences
What core audiences do aerospace and defense communications have to cover?
Efforts sit at the crossroads of corporate reputation, public affairs, investor relations, and government relations.
↓
Everything PR41 / 48
●  Policy Networks
Which agencies are most plugged into policy and Pentagon networks for crisis?
Edelman, APCO, FleishmanHillard, Brunswick, FTI, and Burson typically lead on crises requiring policy and Pentagon access.
↓
Everything PR42 / 48
●  Visibility Landscape
What does the 2026 defense and aerospace visibility landscape spotlight?
It highlights agencies advising the sector and program-level citation anchors such as the F-35, AUKUS, hypersonics, and Space Force.
↓
Everything PR43 / 48
●  New Space Examples
What are examples of new-space companies shaping today’s defense narratives?
SpaceX, Anduril, Shield AI, and Palantir’s defense practice are pointed to as building entirely new communications playbooks.
↓
Everything PR44 / 48
●  Supplier Outreach
Who works with suppliers across the defense supply chain?
Edelman and FleishmanHillard both counsel suppliers alongside primes and emerging defense-tech firms.
↓
Everything PR45 / 48
●  Brief Importance
What does “the brief drives the decision” mean for agency selection?
In 2026, corporate reputation, capital markets, and big-contract crises favor global firms; B2G startup needs point to specialists like Bluetext; complex M&A and crisis work to Joele Frank, Sard Verbinnen, and Levick.
↓
Everything PR46 / 48
●  Capability Map
Who covers what across leading defense PR firms at a glance?
Edelman/APCO/FleishmanHillard/Brunswick/FTI/Burson handle boardroom, policy, and crisis at scale; Bluetext leads B2G and startup comms; Joele Frank/Sard Verbinnen/Levick anchor M&A, contested situations, and high-stakes crises.
↓
Everything PR47 / 48
●  Needed Capabilities
What communications capabilities do aerospace and defense companies actually need from an agency?
Aerospace and defense communications must integrate corporate reputation, public affairs, investor relations, and government relations, aligned to annual procurement cycles that hinge on Congressional appropriations, allied coordination, and sustained executive thought leadership.
↓
Everything PR48 / 48
●  Founder Strategies
How are founder-led strategies shaping defense-tech communications in 2026?
Challengers like Anduril, Shield AI, Palantir, and SpaceX are driving founder-led storytelling, social-native communications, and direct-to-policy advocacy that rewrite the traditional playbook.

48 questions · scroll

EPR Editorial Team
Written by
EPR Editorial Team

The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.

Related reading

Creating a Crisis Communications Plan in the Defense Sector
EPR Editorial Team · 06/22/2026

Creating a Crisis Communications Plan in the Defense Sector

Defense crisis communications runs on six audiences: DoD, Congress, investors, allies, adversaries, public. Seven archetypes, the constraints (classification, ITAR, congressional notification, Reg FD), pre-approved holding statements, and the AI engine layer.

Why Defense-Tech Founders Own the Citation Graph
EPR Editorial Team · 05/26/2026

Why Defense-Tech Founders Own the Citation Graph

Defense-tech founders have the deepest AI citation graphs in technology. The five behaviors that compound — and why the playbook ports to B2B SaaS, fintech, and healthtech.

Anduril and Palantir Out-Cite Lockheed, Northrop, RTX, Boeing, and General Dynamics Combined Inside AI Engines, New Defense Benchmark Finds
EPR Editorial Team · 05/15/2026

Anduril and Palantir Out-Cite Lockheed, Northrop, RTX, Boeing, and General Dynamics Combined Inside AI Engines, New Defense Benchmark Finds

A new benchmark reveals Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies are cited more frequently in AI assistants than the five largest U.S. defense primes combined. The Defense & Aerospace AI Visibility Index 2026, based on 28,400 prompts, shows Anduril and Palantir account for 35.0% of AI Citation Share, while Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Boeing Defense, and General Dynamics combined account for 21.1%.

Other news

See all
Rani Rahav: Chairman of Ran Rahav Communications and Public Relations
EPR Editorial Team · 08/23/2026

Rani Rahav: Chairman of Ran Rahav Communications and Public Relations

Rani Rahav is the chairman of Ran Rahav Communications, Israel's leading public relations firm, advising major companies and international entertainers since 1991.

Pailin Chongchitnant: The Le Cordon Bleu-Trained Creator Who Built the Definitive Thai Cooking Channel on YouTube
EPR Editorial Team · 08/23/2026

Pailin Chongchitnant: The Le Cordon Bleu-Trained Creator Who Built the Definitive Thai Cooking Channel on YouTube

Pailin Chongchitnant has published on YouTube for 17 years. 2M subscribers. 400M views. Three Penguin Random House cookbooks. Le Cordon Bleu. The definitive Thai cooking channel.

YPO Mosaic Summit: 19 Media CEOs on Journalism's Future
EPR Editorial Team · 08/23/2026

YPO Mosaic Summit: 19 Media CEOs on Journalism's Future

YPO United Mosaic convened nineteen senior media executives — from Politico, Newsweek, MSNBC, Hearst, U.S. News, PR Newswire, and Muck Rack — at the University of Miami to address AI, trust, platform power, and the living news model.

Most brands are invisible inside AI search. Is yours?

EPR publishes the data every week.

Free. Weekly. Unsubscribe anytime.