Defense Companies Target Health Care

Traditional defense contractors are increasingly muscling into the health care services field, hoping that the burgeoning area can help them weather reductions in Pentagon equipment buying. Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin and Falls Church-based General Dynamics, both of which already had health care practices in place, have ramped up their businesses in recent weeks with new acquisitions.

“All of the larger players, but especially the ones that are attached to major platforms like Lockheed, GD, Boeing, are scared to death” of reductions in traditional programs, said Bob Kipps, managing director of the McLean-based investment firm KippsDeSanto. “The good news is they’re sitting on a pile of cash.”...