High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The defense industry of South Korea, initially small in size and strategic scope at early point of its development, has steadily expanded its areas of competence over the years to become one of the largest and most self-sufficient defense industries in the modern world. Until the mid-1960s, Korea depended completely upon military aid and equipment from the United States for arming its military. By 1990, Korea began producing most of its military equipment such as weapons, ammunition, communication equipment and vehicles through indigenous industrial endeavor, with self-sufficiency reaching 70% of all defense purchases. In 2006, top ten South Korean defence contractors’ sales reached $4.9 billion, representing 77.1 percent of all defence purchases in South Korea in the year. Domestic defense production eventually increased to $6.6 billion in 2008 when the self-sufficiency of the domestic defense industry exceeded 80%, with a goal to increase total domestic defense production to $10 billion in 2020 by engaging in more export-oriented activities, $6 billion of which will be maintained for the domestic market.