Fujitsu and Honeywell lead AI investment in aerospace and defence

Fujitsu and Honeywell International are leading the way for artificial intelligence investment among top aerospace, defence and security companies, according to our analysis of a range of GlobalData data.

Artificial intelligence has become one of the key themes in the aerospace, defence and security sector of late, with companies hiring for increasingly more roles, making more deals, registering more patents and mentioning it more often in company filings.

These themes, of which artificial intelligence is one, are best thought of as “any issue that keeps a CEO awake at night”, and by tracking and combining them, it becomes possible to ascertain which companies are leading the way on specific issues and which are dragging their heels.

According to GlobalData analysis, Fujitsu Ltd is one of the artificial intelligence leaders in a list of high-revenue companies in the aerospace, defence & security industry, having advertised for 298 positions in artificial intelligence, made two deals related to the field, filed 375 patents and mentioned artificial intelligence three times in company filings between January 2020 and June 2021.

Our analysis classified nine companies as Most Valuable Players – or MVPs – due to their high number of new jobs, deals, patents and company filings mentions in the field of artificial intelligence. An additional seven companies are classified as Market Leaders and zero are Average Players. Five more companies are classified as Late Movers due to their relatively lower levels of jobs, deals, patents and company filings in artificial intelligence.

For the purpose of this analysis, we've ranked top companies in the aerospace, defence & security sector on each of the four metrics relating to artificial intelligence: jobs, deals, patents and company filings. The best-performing companies – the ones ranked at the top across all or most metrics – were categorised as MVPs while the worst performers – companies ranked at the bottom of most indicators – were classified as late movers.

Raytheon Technologies Corp is spearheading the artificial intelligence hiring race, advertising for 1,677 new jobs between January 2020 and June 2021. The company reached peak hiring in October 2020, when it listed 270 new job ads related to artificial intelligence.

Honeywell International Inc followed Raytheon Technologies Corp as the second most proactive artificial intelligence employer, advertising for 920 new positions. Leidos Holdings Inc was third, with 902 new job listings.

When it comes to deals, Northrop Grumman Corp leads with 11 new artificial intelligence deals announced from January 2020 to June 2021. The company was followed by Honeywell International Inc with four deals and Fujitsu Ltd with two.

GlobalData's Financial Deals Database covers hundreds of thousands of M&A contracts, private equity deals, venture finance deals, private placements, IPOs and partnerships, and it serves as an indicator of economic activity within a sector.

One of the most innovative aerospace, defence & security companies in recent months was Fujitsu Ltd, having filed 375 patent applications related to artificial intelligence since the beginning of last year. It was followed by The Boeing Co with 56 patents and Honeywell International Inc with 54.

GlobalData collects patent filings from 100+ counties and jurisdictions. These patents are then tagged according to the themes they relate to, including artificial intelligence, based on specific keywords and expert input. The patents are also assigned to a company to identify the most innovative players in a particular field.

Finally, artificial intelligence was a commonly mentioned theme in aerospace, defence & security company filings. Leidos Holdings Inc mentioned artificial intelligence six times in its corporate reports between January 2020 and June 2021. Lockheed Martin Corp. filings mentioned it six times and General Dynamics Corp mentioned it four times.