IDEF vs XAR: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Defense Industrials Act

IDEFBNasdaq

State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF

XARANYSE Arca

Overlap

29.8%by weight

Expense ratio

XAR −0.20pt a year

IDEF0.55%XAR0.35%

Avg volume · 30D

IDEF 3.4×the volume

IDEF982KXAR293K

IDEF vs XAR Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

−6.5%IDEF−8.4%XAR

Expense ratio: IDEF 0.55%; XAR 0.35%, better
Fund size: IDEF $3.67B; XAR $5.3B
1Y total return: IDEF −6.5%, better; XAR −8.4%
Yield (12M): IDEF No data; XAR 0.18%
Holdings: IDEF 165; XAR 51
Avg volume (30D): IDEF 982K sh, better; XAR 293K sh
NAV per share: IDEF $30.07; XAR $235.33
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IDEF, XAR, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IDEF	XAR
Cost30% weight	C44	A92Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	B56Higher	D30
Tradability15% weight	B62	A90Higher
Holdings10% weight	A87	A87
Durability5% weight	A82	A93Higher

Rank among Defense & Aerospace funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IDEF and XAR 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 ›

XAR ranks 1st 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 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

XARAState Street SPDR S&P 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.

XAR Most defense funds hand the wheel to a handful of giant primes. XAR spreads its roughly 50 aerospace and defense names close to equal weight, so a mid cap parts maker carries about the same load as a household-name contractor.

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.

XAR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry Index.

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.

XAR Modified equal weighting keeps any single prime contractor from running the show: large, mid and small cap names carry similar weight in the index.ssga.com
Costs 0.35% a year, under the 0.50% typical of defense funds and a hair below ITA at 0.37%. Cheap for a targeted industry bet.
Trading since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it is one of the most established and best-built ways to own the US aerospace and defense industry.
About 50 US-listed aerospace and defense stocks pulled from the S&P Total Market Index, so suppliers and smaller specialists sit alongside the famous names.ssga.com

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.

XAR One industry, tied to government budgets and order cycles. Expect bigger swings than a broad market fund.
Equal weighting leans on smaller suppliers, which cuts both ways: less of the fund rides the megacap primes when those lead.ssga.com
Distributions land quarterly, but this is an industry growth basket, not an income vehicle.

Full IDEF profile⁠

Full XAR profile⁠

IDEF vs XAR Holdings

How IDEF and XAR differ

Overlap by weight

29.8%

Shared holdings make up 82.3% of XAR and 39.0% of IDEF.

Level by level

Holdings36 in both29.8%
Countryby domicile64.8%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

No Sector split for XAR.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IDEF and XAR, widest gap first
Country	More in IDEFMore in XAR	IDEF	XAR
United States	XAR +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%
XAR32.3%

Securities held

IDEF153
XAR50

Asset class

IDEF: Equity
XAR: Equity

Holdings

Only in IDEF117
In both36
Only in XAR14

Only in IDEF

117 securities, 60.8% 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 XAR

14 securities, 17.7% of XAR by weight

Ftai Aviation Ltd3.13%
Standardaero Inc2.76%
Axon Enterprise Inc2.65%
Archer Aviation Inc A1.56%
Loar Holdings Inc1.27%
Arxis Inc A1.18%
Astronics Corp1.15%
Intuitive Machines Inc0.97%
Firefly Aerospace Inc0.92%
Beta Technologies Inc Class A0.89%
Cadre Holdings Inc0.36%
York Space Systems Inc0.36%
Satellogic Inc A0.25%
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc0.21%

Weight gaps

All 36 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in IDEF and XAR, widest gap first
Holding	More in IDEFMore in XAR	IDEF	XAR
RtxRTX	IDEF +4.30 points	7.29%	2.99%
Huntington Ingalls IndustriesHII	XAR +2.93 points	0.40%	3.33%
Textron IncTXT	XAR +2.73 points	0.51%	3.24%
Karman Holdings IncKRMN	XAR +2.67 points	0.50%	3.17%
HeicoHEI	XAR +2.60 points	0.49%	3.09%
Honeywell Aerospace IncHONA	XAR +2.53 points	0.59%	3.12%
Moog Inc Class AMOG.A	XAR +2.53 points	0.39%	2.92%
L3HARRIS TechnologiesLHX	XAR +2.53 points	0.76%	3.29%
Bwx Technologies IncBWXT	XAR +2.52 points	0.08%	2.60%
AerovironmentAVAV	XAR +2.31 points	0.48%	2.79%
WoodwardWWD	XAR +2.29 points	0.47%	2.76%
Kratos Defense and Security SolutiKTOS	XAR +2.24 points	0.52%	2.76%
Rocket Lab CorpRKLB	XAR +2.19 points	0.58%	2.77%
Curtiss WrightCW	XAR +2.16 points	0.44%	2.60%
HexcelHXL	XAR +2.13 points	0.33%	2.46%
AtiATI	XAR +2.10 points	0.41%	2.51%
Transdigm GroupTDG	XAR +2.02 points	1.07%	3.09%
Vse CorpVSEC	XAR +1.86 points	0.35%	2.21%
Howmet AerospaceHWM	XAR +1.85 points	0.77%	2.62%
Lockheed MartinLMT	IDEF +1.79 points	5.42%	3.63%
Mercury Systems IncMRCY	XAR +1.64 points	0.52%	2.16%
Carpenter TechnologyCRS	XAR +1.62 points	0.31%	1.93%
General Dynamics CorpGD	IDEF +1.28 points	4.39%	3.11%
Ge AerospaceGE	XAR +1.09 points	1.76%	2.85%
Leonardo Drs IncDRS	XAR +1.07 points	0.26%	1.33%
BoeingBA	IDEF +1.05 points	3.53%	2.48%
DucommunDCO	XAR +1.00 points	0.25%	1.25%
V2XVVX	XAR +0.99 points	0.41%	1.40%
AarAIR	XAR +0.95 points	0.43%	1.38%
RedwireRDW	XAR +0.94 points	0.25%	1.19%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	IDEF +0.77 points	4.00%	3.23%
Voyager Technologies Class AVOYG	XAR +0.53 points	0.26%	0.79%
Red Cat Holdings IncRCAT	XAR +0.18 points	0.20%	0.38%
Park Aerospace CorpPKE	XAR +0.15 points	0.11%	0.26%
National Presto Industries IncNPK	XAR +0.14 points	0.27%	0.41%
Aevex Corp Class AAVEX	IDEF +0.01 points	0.20%	0.19%

All 153 IDEF holdings⁠All 50 XAR 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 XAR Cost

Overpaying IDEF vs XAR

$3,778

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

IDEF 0.55%
$10,904
XAR 0.35%
$7,126

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IDEF 0.55%
XAR 0.35%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IDEF	XAR	Overpaying
10	$988	$634	$354
20	$3,790	$2,454	$1,336
30	$10,904	$7,126	$3,778

Expense ratio

0.55%IDEF
0.35%XAR, cheaper

XAR0.35%IDEF0.55%

0.35%1.11%

Middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
Median 0.50%

XAR cheapest of 25 funds

IDEF 14th cheapest of 25 funds

IDEF vs XAR Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IDEF No data; XAR 0.18%
Payout (12M): IDEF No data; XAR $0.42
Last payment: IDEF $0.05; XAR $0.13
Ex-dividend: IDEF Jun 15, 2026; XAR Sep 21, 2026
Paid on: IDEF Jun 18, 2026; XAR Sep 23, 2026
Frequency: IDEF Twice a year; XAR Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IDEFTwice a year · 2 paymentsAll IDEF payments⁠

XARQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll XAR payments⁠

IDEF vs XAR 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 2025XAR 23.1%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IDEF 0.42since Jun 2025XAR 0.93
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IDEF −18.9%since May 2025XAR −27.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IDEF 0.82XAR 1.26; Market = 1

IDEF and XAR in the news

All news⁠

Deep Dive
Defense & Aerospace ETFs nearly doubled in three years. September's losses came from different names
Sep 21, 2026IDEFXAR
Deep Dive
ITA fell with Boeing, SHLD rose with Palantir last week
Sep 20, 2026IDEFXAR
News
Navy awards Raytheon an SM-6 contract valued at up to $24.4 billion
Oct 1, 2026XAR
News
Boeing beats Northrop for a Navy fighter development deal of more than $20 billion
Sep 29, 2026XAR
News
CBO prices Iran combat at $38.1 billion and 0.5 percentage point on 2027 inflation
Sep 15, 2026XAR
News
AeroVironment holds fiscal 2027 as funded backlog hits a record $1.5 billion
Sep 9, 2026XAR

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