Best Aerospace & Defense ETFs
Aerospace, defense, and industrial ETFs ranked by ETF Copilot, refreshed daily.
Updated September 11, 2026
What stands out across Aerospace & Defense ETFs
Expense ratios on this page run from 0.08% to 0.69% a year, a median of 0.09%. 2 of the 5 shown charge that lowest figure.
Across the 5 funds shown, ETF Copilot's overall scores run from 3.6 to 5.0 out of 10, with a median of 3.9.
Concentration varies widely here: the ten largest holdings account for 31% of assets in the least concentrated fund and 78% in the most, a median of 40% across the list.
2 of 5 are more concentrated than the typical fund in their own category, on ETF Copilot's concentration measure.
The typical Aerospace & Defense fund on this page behaves like 39 equally weighted positions once holding weights are taken into account.
As of September 11, 2026, the largest fund on ETF Copilot's Best Aerospace & Defense ETFs list by assets is State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI).
What are the Best Aerospace & Defense ETFs? The 5 on this list
| # | Fund | ETF Copilot score | Expense ratio | Assets | Top 10 weight | Largest exposures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) | 3.8/10 | 0.08% | $31.7B | 40% | Tech 4%, AI 1% |
| 2 | iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | 3.6/10 | 0.37% | $13.4B | 78% | Tech 0% |
| 3 | First Trust RBA American Industrial RenaissanceTM ETF (AIRR) | 5.0/10 | 0.69% | $9.5B | 31% | Tech 3% |
| 4 | Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS) | 4.0/10 | 0.09% | $8.8B | 31% | Tech 4%, AI 1% |
| 5 | State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) | 3.9/10 | 0.08% | $8.5B | 60% |
ETF Copilot's 0–10 score rates a fund on value, growth, quality and risk against every US equity ETF we track. How the scores are built →
Expense ratio, dividend yield and assets under management are reported by the fund and refreshed daily. Every other figure on this page is computed by ETF Copilot.
Which Aerospace & Defense ETFs are compared head to head?
Every published head-to-head between these funds, the most searched first.
- ITA vs XLI
- AIRR vs ITA
- AIRR vs XLI
- AIRR vs VIS
- ITA vs VIS
- XLI vs VIS
- AIRR vs XLB
- ITA vs XLB
- VIS vs XLB
- XLB vs XLI
- AIRR vs PPA
- ITA vs PPA
- PPA vs VIS
- PPA vs XLB
- PPA vs XLI
- AIRR vs XAR
- ITA vs XAR
- PPA vs XAR
- VIS vs XAR
- XAR vs XLB
- XAR vs XLI
- AIRR vs VAW
- ITA vs VAW
- PPA vs VAW
- VAW vs VIS
- VAW vs XAR
- VAW vs XLI
- XLB vs VAW
- AIRR vs ITB
- ITA vs ITB
- ITB vs PPA
- ITB vs VAW
- ITB vs VIS
- ITB vs XAR
- ITB vs XLB
- ITB vs XLI
- AIRR vs FIDU
- FIDU vs ITA
- FIDU vs ITB
- FIDU vs PPA
- FIDU vs VAW
- FIDU vs VIS
- FIDU vs XAR
- FIDU vs XLB
- FIDU vs XLI
- FIDU vs IYJ vs VIS vs XLI
Where is money going in Industrials & Materials?
In the week to September 11, 2026, Industrials & Materials moved -2.2% and saw -$692M of net fund flow, which ETF Copilot reads as exiting — money leaving.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Price, 1 week | -2.2% |
| Net flow, 1 week | -$692M |
| Price, 1 month | -7.3% |
| Net flow, 1 month | -$702M |
Net fund flow is money into or out of the ETFs in this category, computed by ETF Copilot from daily fund assets. All 33 sectors side by side →
Cite this
ETF Copilot, “Best Aerospace & Defense ETFs”, as of September 11, 2026.
https://etf-copilot.com/best/aerospace-defense-etfs
Register free to unlock prices and holdings on ETF Copilot.
Register free →