McDonnell led a survey of U.S. arms exporters.

A report on U.S. arms trade for 1985, prepared by the nonprofit Investor Responsibility Research Center, said McDonnell led American arms exporters with $1.62 billion in prime contract awards that year. Next came Boeing Co. with $1.29 billion and General Dynamics Corp. with $1.23 billion. Saudi Arabia was the top importer, taking delivery of $2.99 billion worth of hardware. McDonnell Douglas, the biggest U.S. defense contractor overall, topped the survey in 1984.