IDEF vs ITA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Defense Industrials Act

IDEFBNasdaq

iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

ITAACboe

Overlap

37.2%by weight

Expense ratio

ITA −0.18pt a year

IDEF0.55%ITA0.37%

Avg volume · 30D

IDEF 1.3×the volume

IDEF982KITA747K

IDEF vs ITA Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

−6.5%IDEF−2.6%ITA

Expense ratio: IDEF 0.55%; ITA 0.37%, better
Fund size: IDEF $3.67B; ITA $12.2B
1Y total return: IDEF −6.5%; ITA −2.6%, better
Yield (12M): IDEF No data; ITA 0.27%
Holdings: IDEF 165; ITA 52
Avg volume (30D): IDEF 982K sh, better; ITA 747K sh
NAV per share: IDEF $30.07; ITA $209.66
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IDEF, ITA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IDEF	ITA
Cost30% weight	C44	A80Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	A76
Risk15% weight	B56	B61Higher
Tradability15% weight	B62	A96Higher
Holdings10% weight	A87Higher	D34
Durability5% weight	A82	A98Higher

Rank among Defense & Aerospace funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IDEF and ITA are both graded against the same 25 Defense & Aerospace funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Defense & Aerospace⁠

Category · 25 funds

See all 25 ›

ITA ranks 2nd and IDEF 6th of 25 funds in the Defense & Aerospace Category.

Rank 1AXARState Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 78
Rank 2AITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 74
Rank 3BFLDZTrueShares Patriot Defense ETFScore 62
Rank 5BPPAInvesco Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 60
Rank 6BIDEFiShares Defense Industrials ActScore 58
Rank 7BWDGFWisdomTree Global Defense FundScore 56

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IDEFBiShares Defense Industrials Act

ITAAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

In short

IDEF BlackRock's active answer to index-tracking defense funds: a stock picker's portfolio of global aerospace, cyber and defense-infrastructure names, with no US-only benchmark holding the leash.

ITA The 2006 original in aerospace and defense, and still the anchor fund of the category. It follows a market-cap-weighted index of U.S. aircraft, parts and weapons makers, so the big primes carry most of the weight.

Stated mandate

IDEF The fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of U.S. and non-U.S. defense and related industrial companies.

ITA The fund is designed to follow an index of U.S. equity companies focused on aerospace and defense.

Why people hold it

IDEF Active and global by design: at least 80% of assets go to US and non-US defense and related industrial companies, so European rearmament names are in bounds.ishares.com
Spreads across about 120 holdings, reaching past the classic primes into aerospace, cybersecurity and infrastructure suppliers.ishares.com
Crossed a billion dollars in assets and trades actively, an unusually quick start for a fund launched in 2025.
Holds its own in a crowded defense field, landing in the upper half of its peer group on our review.

ITA Charges 0.37% a year, below the typical defense-fund fee and a whisker off the cheapest large rival, XAR at 0.35%.
Trading since 2006 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund: the long-standing incumbent in U.S. aerospace and defense.
The index weights by market cap but caps any single company's weight, so the biggest primes lead without swallowing the whole portfolio.spglobal.com
One of the strongest builds in a crowded defense peer group, with a plain-vanilla index mandate and quarterly payouts.

Worth knowing

IDEF At 0.55%, it costs more than index rivals like ITA (0.37%) and XAR (0.35%). The stock picking is what the extra buys.
Launched in 2025 with no declared index, so there is a short record and no benchmark to measure the manager's picks against.
Distributions come once or twice a year rather than quarterly.

ITA About 50 stocks, cap-weighted: a few primes drive most of the ride. XAR's modified equal weight spreads exposure further down the size ladder.ssga.com
One U.S. industry, running on two engines: government procurement and commercial aircraft demand. Narrower than a broad-market fund by design.ishares.com
Holds a representative sample of the index rather than every constituent, which can leave small gaps versus the benchmark.sec.gov

Full IDEF profile⁠

Full ITA profile⁠

IDEF vs ITA Holdings

How IDEF and ITA differ

Overlap by weight

37.2%

Shared holdings make up 92.7% of ITA and 38.8% of IDEF.

Level by level

Sector9 Sectors0.0%
Holdings34 in both37.2%
Countryby domicile64.8%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in IDEF and ITA, widest gap first
Sector	More in IDEFMore in ITA	IDEF	ITA
Aerospace & Defense	ITA +99.9 points	0.0%	99.9%
Industrials	IDEF +77.8 points	77.8%	0.0%
Technology	IDEF +16.4 points	16.4%	0.0%
Communication	IDEF +3.0 points	3.0%	0.0%
Materials	IDEF +1.6 points	1.6%	0.0%
Consumer Discretionary	IDEF +0.9 points	0.9%	0.0%
Energy	IDEF +0.3 points	0.3%	0.0%
Leisure Products	ITA +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%
Utilities	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IDEF and ITA, widest gap first
Country	More in IDEFMore in ITA	IDEF	ITA
United States	ITA +35.2 points	64.8%	100.0%
France	IDEF +6.7 points	6.7%	0.0%
Japan	IDEF +5.5 points	5.5%	0.0%
United Kingdom	IDEF +5.5 points	5.5%	0.0%
South Korea	IDEF +4.5 points	4.5%	0.0%
Germany	IDEF +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
Sweden	IDEF +2.3 points	2.3%	0.0%
Israel	IDEF +1.9 points	1.9%	0.0%
Other countries (4)	IDEF +6.0 points	6.0%	0.0%

Outside the US: IDEF 82% developed, 18% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IDEF37.8%
ITA76.3%

Securities held

IDEF153
ITA50

Asset class

IDEF: Equity
ITA: Equity

Holdings

Only in IDEF119
In both34
Only in ITA16

Only in IDEF

119 securities, 61.1% of IDEF by weight

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC3.09%
Palantir Technologies Class A2.82%
Space Exploration Technologies Cor2.67%
Airbus Group2.36%
Thales SA2.18%
Saab Class B1.93%
Leonardo Finmeccanica Spa1.64%
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries1.55%
Mitsubishi Electric1.43%
Palo Alto Networks1.34%
Microsoft1.32%
Crowdstrike Holdings Class A1.22%
Elbit Systems1.18%
Amphenol Corp Class A1.09%
Rheinmetall AG1.01%
Safran SA1.00%
Hanwha Aerospace Ltd0.95%
Bae Systems PLC0.92%
Kongsberg Gruppen0.91%
Ihi0.91%
Amazon.com Inc0.90%
Hanwha Systems Ltd0.86%
Singapore Technologies Engineering0.86%
Kawasaki Heavy Industries0.85%
Korea Aerospace Industries0.75%
Cae0.69%
Csg Class A NV0.66%
Fortinet0.63%
Leidos Holdings0.61%
Itt Inc0.60%
Dassault Aviation SA0.60%
Babcock International Group PLC0.60%
Parsons Corp0.58%
Science Applications International0.56%
Qinetiq Group PLC0.55%
Broadcom Inc0.53%
Teledyne Technologies0.52%
Zscaler0.48%
Exosens SA0.47%
Mtu Aero Engines Holding AG0.47%
Bombardier Class B0.46%
Hensoldt AG0.45%
Viasat Inc0.45%
Renk Group AG0.43%
Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd0.42%
Tkms AG0.41%
Kbr Inc0.38%
Macom Technology Solutions0.38%
Embraer Adr Representing Four0.37%
Crane0.37%

Only in ITA

16 securities, 7.3% of ITA by weight

Axon Enterprise2.67%
Ftai Aviation1.48%
Heico Class A1.38%
Standardaero0.40%
Archer Aviation Class A0.21%
Arxis Class A0.19%
Beta Technologies Class A0.18%
Loar Holdings0.17%
Astronics0.16%
Intuitive Machines Inc Class A0.13%
Firefly Aerospace0.13%
Cadre Holdings0.07%
Sturm Ruger0.05%
Smith Wesson Brands Inc0.05%
York Space Systems Inc0.04%
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc Shs C0.03%

Weight gaps

All 34 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in IDEF and ITA, widest gap first
Holding	More in IDEFMore in ITA	IDEF	ITA
Ge AerospaceGE	ITA +18.26 points	1.76%	20.02%
RtxRTX	ITA +9.93 points	7.29%	17.22%
Transdigm GroupTDG	ITA +3.70 points	1.07%	4.77%
BoeingBA	ITA +3.30 points	3.53%	6.83%
Howmet AerospaceHWM	ITA +3.24 points	0.77%	4.01%
L3HARRIS TechnologiesLHX	ITA +3.21 points	0.76%	3.97%
Honeywell Aerospace IncHONA	ITA +3.16 points	0.59%	3.75%
Rocket Lab CorpRKLB	ITA +1.73 points	0.58%	2.31%
AtiATI	ITA +1.32 points	0.41%	1.73%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	ITA +1.06 points	4.00%	5.06%
WoodwardWWD	ITA +0.91 points	0.47%	1.38%
Curtiss WrightCW	ITA +0.91 points	0.44%	1.35%
Bwx Technologies IncBWXT	ITA +0.84 points	0.08%	0.92%
Carpenter TechnologyCRS	ITA +0.77 points	0.31%	1.08%
Textron IncTXT	ITA +0.62 points	0.51%	1.13%
Huntington Ingalls IndustriesHII	ITA +0.56 points	0.40%	0.96%
General Dynamics CorpGD	ITA +0.56 points	4.39%	4.95%
HeicoHEI	ITA +0.52 points	0.49%	1.01%
Moog Inc Class AMOG.A	ITA +0.38 points	0.39%	0.77%
Lockheed MartinLMT	ITA +0.27 points	5.42%	5.69%
V2XVVX	IDEF +0.22 points	0.41%	0.19%
National Presto Industries IncNPK	IDEF +0.21 points	0.27%	0.06%
Mercury Systems IncMRCY	IDEF +0.19 points	0.52%	0.33%
Red Cat Holdings IncRCAT	IDEF +0.15 points	0.20%	0.05%
Voyager Technologies Class AVOYG	IDEF +0.15 points	0.26%	0.11%
AarAIR	IDEF +0.12 points	0.43%	0.31%
HexcelHXL	ITA +0.12 points	0.33%	0.45%
AerovironmentAVAV	IDEF +0.11 points	0.48%	0.37%
Karman Holdings IncKRMN	IDEF +0.12 points	0.50%	0.38%
RedwireRDW	IDEF +0.09 points	0.25%	0.16%
DucommunDCO	IDEF +0.08 points	0.25%	0.17%
Kratos Defense and Security SolutiKTOS	ITA +0.07 points	0.52%	0.59%
Leonardo Drs IncDRS	IDEF +0.04 points	0.26%	0.22%
Vse CorpVSEC	IDEF +0.03 points	0.35%	0.32%

All 153 IDEF holdings⁠All 50 ITA holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

IDEF vs ITA Cost

Overpaying IDEF vs ITA

$3,391

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

IDEF 0.55%
$10,904
ITA 0.37%
$7,513

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IDEF 0.55%
ITA 0.37%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IDEF	ITA	Overpaying
10	$988	$670	$318
20	$3,790	$2,590	$1,200
30	$10,904	$7,513	$3,391

Expense ratio

0.55%IDEF
0.37%ITA, cheaper

ITA0.37%IDEF0.55%

0.35%1.11%

Middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
Median 0.50%

ITA 5th cheapest of 25 funds

IDEF 14th cheapest of 25 funds

IDEF vs ITA Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IDEF No data; ITA 0.27%
Payout (12M): IDEF No data; ITA $0.57
Last payment: IDEF $0.05; ITA $0.25
Ex-dividend: IDEF Jun 15, 2026; ITA Sep 15, 2026
Paid on: IDEF Jun 18, 2026; ITA Sep 18, 2026
Frequency: IDEF Twice a year; ITA Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IDEFTwice a year · 2 paymentsAll IDEF payments⁠

ITAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll ITA payments⁠

IDEF vs ITA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IDEF 20.8%since Jun 2025ITA 18.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IDEF 0.42since Jun 2025ITA 1.06
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IDEF −18.9%since May 2025ITA −20.0%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IDEF 0.82ITA 0.98; Market = 1

IDEF and ITA in the news

All news⁠

Deep Dive
Defense & Aerospace ETFs nearly doubled in three years. September's losses came from different names
Sep 21, 2026IDEFITA
Deep Dive
ITA fell with Boeing, SHLD rose with Palantir last week
Sep 20, 2026IDEFITA
News
GE Aerospace raises its 2026 profit forecast again
Oct 20, 2026ITA
News
Navy awards Raytheon an SM-6 contract valued at up to $24.4 billion
Oct 1, 2026ITA
News
Boeing beats Northrop for a Navy fighter development deal of more than $20 billion
Sep 29, 2026ITA
News
Turkish Airlines firms 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, with deliveries from 2033
Sep 23, 2026ITA

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