Mixed performance on the bourses on the one hand and a generous flow of funds from the Pentagon on the other formed the picture of the defense sector last week. The mixed share price performances of the defense companies can be traced to the meek 0.44% growth of the S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense (Industry) index last week.Meanwhile, Q1 estimates continue to drop with total earnings for the quarter expected to decrease 11.1% on 2.3% lower revenues for the S&P 500. In comparison, the aerospace and defense sector will likely register a 10.5% decrease in earnings on a 2.8% revenue decline.Among the important highlights, the U.S. Navy plans to seek billions of dollars to buy warships, submarines and support vessels in the next five years, according to new budget figures from the service. This proposal, which Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Sean Stackley has outlined last Wednesday to a Senate Armed Services Committee panel, is largely in keeping with last year’s five-year plan.The Boeing Company BA reported the deliveries it made in the first quarter of 2016 on Apr 7, showing an overall rise in completed military platforms year on year. (Read Defense Stock Roundup for Apr 6, 2016 here.)Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories1. The U.S. Navy has outlined a five-year budget proposal that allocates $81.4 billion for the purchase of 38 warships, submarines and support vessels during the 2017–2021 time frame.This plan involves the funding of approximately $14.7 billion for 7 vessels in fiscal 2017, about $16.8 billion for 8 vessels in fiscal 2018, $16.2 billion for 7 vessels in fiscal 2019, $16.9 billion for 8 vessels in fiscal 2020 and finally $16.8 billion for 8 vessels in fiscal 2021.These figures are vital as well as reassuring for prime defense contractors like General Dynamics Corp. GD, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. HII, Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT and Austral, and subcontractors like Raytheon Co. RTN. The five-year plan should catch the attention of investors interested in shipbuilding companies (read more: Good News for GD, HII, LMT: $81.4B Budget Proposal for Ships).2. Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. UTX, has secured a $1.04 billion Pentagon contract for more engines to power the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Pratt & Whitney with this modification contract for F135 engines, bringing the total value of the contract on the ninth batch of the engines to $1.4 billion.The contract covers 53 conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) engines and 13 short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion systems for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as five international customers – Britain, Israel, Norway, Italy and Japan.The majority of the work, which is part of the Lot 9 low-rate initial production, or LRIP, contract, will be carried out in East Hartford, CT. Other locations include Indianapolis and Bristol, U.K. The contract is expected to be completed in Sep 2019.3. Boeing has a mixed bag of both good as well as bad news. Among the good news, this defense major seems to be in a winning spree as far as clinching defense contracts are concerned. Boeing bagged almost a billion dollar contract last week from the DoD for some modification work on 117 AH-64E remanufactured Apache helicopters. The contract, worth $992.6 million, was received from the Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL.These advanced Apache helicopters also require upgrades to serve the ever changing needs of the Army. The block upgrades of AH-64E helicopters will keep them ready for future missions. AH-64E Apaches are powered by General Electric Company’s T700-701D engine, providing an engine power of 1,994 shp (1,487 kW) (read more: Boeing Gets $922M Contract to Modify 117 Apache Helicopters).Now, for the not-so-good news, this aerospace behemoth reported a 4.3% decline in commercial deliveries in the first quarter of 2016. In the defense and space business, Boeing’s deliveries numbered 50, compared with 42 a year ago. Boeing’s total deliveries, however, remained flat at 226 in the first quarter 2016 (read more: Boeing Q1 Commercial Deliveries Drop, Em-Im Stand-off Hurts).Meanwhile, Boeing’s chief executive underscored the fact that the company is losing important contracts for aircraft and satellites to overseas rivals due to a stand-off in Congress over the future of the U.S Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. This has restricted the export credit agency’s financing capabilities.4. Orbital ATK, Inc. OA, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, was awarded the Sounding Rocket Operations Contract III by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Per the deal, the company will provide support for the agency’s Sounding Rockets Program. Sounding rockets are used to conduct suborbital missions for scientific and atmospheric research.Under the contract, Orbital ATK, along with LJT and Associates, Inc., the Hammers Company and Hawk Institute for Space Sciences, will employ technical and administrative staff at the Wallops Flight Facility and the White Sands Missile Range (read more: Orbital ATK Clinches Contract Worth $200M from NASA).5. The Javelin joint venture between Lockheed Martin in Orlando, FL and Raytheon in Tucson, AZ has won a multi-year contract from the U.S. Army for the GEU hybrid regulators under a foreign military sales (“FMS”) program. The contract is worth $181.3 million.The FMS covers Estonia and the Czech Republic. Contracting activity is Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL.Javelin is the world's first one-man-portable, fire-and-forget, multipurpose missile weapon system. This compact, lightweight system was designed for one-soldier operations in all situations. It enhances direct-fire capability against armored vehicles, buildings and field fortifications. Armed forces across the world have adopted Javelin. It is currently in service with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as 15 allied militaries.PerformanceDefense stocks showed a mixed performance in the past five trading sessions with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corp. NOC and Rockwell Collins Inc. COL off their mark. However, General Dynamics gained 1.4% followed by Textron TXT.The past six-month picture is also peppered with gains and losses. Northrop Grumman gained the most while Textron was the biggest loser, with over 10% depreciation.The following table shows the price movement of the major defense players over the past five trading days and during the last six months. Company Last Week Last 6 months LMT -0.43% 6.38% BA 0.69% -7.67% GD 1.40% -7.18% RTN -0.86% 12.53% NOC -1.36% 13.56% COL -0.20% 6.39% TXT 1.15% -10.54% LLL 0.18% 6.27% Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NORTHROP GRUMMN (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report GENL DYNAMICS (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report ROCKWELL COLLIN (COL): Free Stock Analysis Report TEXTRON INC (TXT): Free Stock Analysis Report UTD TECHS CORP (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report RAYTHEON CO (RTN): Free Stock Analysis Report HUNTINGTON INGL (HII): Free Stock Analysis Report ORBITAL ATK INC (OA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research