WASHINGTON, DC -- In sharp contrast to the near-collective consecutive quarterly revenue declines reported by US defense contractors in the first quarter of 2012, most companies exhibited quarterly revenue growth for the second quarter. This is despite the ongoing challenges of declining defense budgets as well as the unresolved issue of sequestration in the US.

That's according to a new report from Strategy Analytics.

“Taking a look at the financials released in July, including those from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, we saw quarterly revenue declines swing around almost universally,” noted Asif Anwar, director of the ADS service at Strategy Analytics. “It has certainly provided the industry some breathing space as it continues to operate in an uncertain environment and this seemed to be reflected in the orders and commitments received at the Farnborough International Air Show.”

“There were some significant announcements in and around Farnborough, ranging from platforms through to components,” observed Eric Higham, ADS Service Director North America. “On the radar front, it looks like the Eurofighter is finally going to get an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar from 2015 onwards, joining the other European fighter, the Saab Gripen NG which is now flying with a SELEX Galileo Raven ES-05 AESA fire control radar.”