Financial research concept

Aerospace and Defense Funded Backlog

Funded backlog is the portion of aerospace and defense backlog supported by authorized and appropriated customer funding.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 22, 2026
Research context

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Research date
Sep 22, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
12 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Aerospace & Defense Program Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Aerospace and defense funded backlog is firm backlog supported by customer funding that has been authorized and appropriated.

Lockheed Martin reported $120.2 billion at the end of 2025, up from $107.8 billion in 2024.

Funded backlog grew 11.5%, faster than total backlog

Total backlog grew 10.0%, so funded backlog gained a small amount of mix. The reconstructed funded share increased from about 61.3% to 62.1%.

That distinction helps separate the size of the order book from its funding composition.

Funded does not mean near-term

Appropriated funding does not establish when revenue will be recognized. Lockheed still expects only about 37% of total backlog to convert in the next 12 months.

Funded backlog also retains execution, cancellation, schedule, collection, and profitability risk.

Source:

Part of the Aerospace & Defense Program Economics

Connect backlog funding and conversion, contract and delivery mix, and long-cycle contract balances to understand aerospace and defense program economics.

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Where this concept fits
  • Backlog funding and conversionCurrent relationship
    Total backlog combines funded and unfunded firm orders under the issuer-specific backlog definition. Funded mix separates appropriated work from backlog still dependent on future funding, while 12-month and 24-month conversion estimates add expected revenue timing without turning backlog into guaranteed sales.
  • Contract and delivery mix
    Fixed-price and cost-reimbursable sales mix show how contract risk is allocated, while product and services sales mix show what type of work is being delivered. These issuer-reported or analyst-derived mix views are not standardized peer profitability measures.
  • Contract-balance working capital
    Contract assets represent recognized revenue that has not yet been billed, while contract liabilities reflect customer payments ahead of revenue recognition. They describe billing and cash timing on long-cycle work and are not backlog.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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Compare funded backlog growth with total backlog and near-term conversion instead of assuming appropriated funding means near-term revenue.

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