Why Virginia’s A Mecca For Defense Contractors (From Forbes)

When Northrop Grumman Chairman Wes Bush addressed a meeting of government officials and contractors at the company’s new headquarters in Virginia last week, he began by thanking local officials for their help in moving to the location. Bush disclosed the decision to move the headquarters from Los Angeles to the national capital region in January of 2010, saying that all of the local jurisdictions would be considered as potential sites for the company’s new nerve center. But like every other recent defense transplant, he decided northern Virginia was the place to be. In fact, the same Falls Church office park where Northrop now makes its home also hosts the headquarters of three other big military contractors. I have written a commentary for Forbes.com on why big defense companies like General Dynamics, BAE Systems and SAIC seem to prefer putting their corporate headquarters in northern Virginia rather than neighboring Maryland or the District of Columbia. You can read the commentary here.