Defense Contracts Support Vast Array of Businesses : Economy: Over the last four years, the Pentagon spent $49 billion in California for a potpourri of non-armament goods and services to equip, feed, clothe, entertain and clean up after the military.

WASHINGTON â€”  From egg farms and blood banks to movie studios and college bookstores, the list of 7,000 Defense Department suppliers in California cuts across nearly every sector of the state’s economy.

Nearly half of the $26 billion the Pentagon spent last year in California went to enterprises that have as much in common with bombs and missiles as Jane Fonda. And the work can be lucrative--988 California companies received military procurement awards of at least $1 million in 1992.

The defense contractors come in all shapes and sizes. Giant oil firms, including Arco and Chevron, garnered a total of $3.3 billion over the past four years while the Grosvenor Inn in San Diego received $1.3 million.

Among the 3,054 small businesses that received less than $100,000 last year were firms with names that pose little threat to the Lockheeds and Littons of the military world.

These include Bigger Than Life Inc. of El Cajon, makers of inflatable F-15 jets used in training exercises; Ollies Clean N Sweep in Santa Maria; House of Metamorphosis, a drug treatment facility in San Diego; Sign of the Dove, a skilled nursing center in Sunland, and Place for Her, a Torrance dress shop whose owner’s husband happens to churn out aerospace parts.

Another unlikely supplier, freshman Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), also benefited from defense spending. His firm, Jaykim Engineers Inc., has received $1.6 million since 1989. Kim recently sold his company to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

These businesses learned years ago that the Pentagon can be a reliable customer for all kinds of products, from scuba diving equipment to swimming pools.

A Times computer-assisted study of all federal contracts from fiscal years 1989 through 1992 found that the Pentagon is by far the government’s largest buyer of goods and services in California. More than three-fourths of all federal purchases in the state were controlled by the Defense Department, the study found.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, 9.5% of California’s total output comes from Pentagon spending, ranking the state fourth in its financial dependency on the Defense Department, behind Alaska, Hawaii and Virginia.

Over the past four years, the Pentagon shelled out $58 billion in California for guided missiles, fighter jets, research and development and other weapons-related products and services. Surprisingly, a similar amount--$49 billion--was disbursed throughout the state for an array of non-armament goods and services to equip, feed, clothe, entertain and clean up after the military.

Defense Department spending in California since 1989 included $1.5 billion on utilities and housekeeping, $1.2 billion on computer equipment and software, $827 million on food, $598 million on transportation and travel, $346 million on medical supplies, $44 million on clothing and $7.1 million on recreation and musical equipment, the study found.

The federal contracts analyzed by The Times do not include hundreds of millions of dollars in subcontracts awarded to California companies by major defense firms that do business with the Pentagon.

Northrop Corp., makers of the B-2 Stealth bomber, had more than 6,000 suppliers in California last year, said Tony Cantafio, Northrop vice president of information. The company’s F-18 assembly line in El Segundo farmed out work to 500 firms. Over the last three years, Northrop spent more than $1 billion in California for goods and services.

“The Lockheeds and Northrops are the tip of the iceberg,� Cantafio said. “You have a huge infrastructure of smaller firms underneath to support these companies.�

And many of these firms provide products as diverse as California itself.

Although Hollywood studios usually pay the Pentagon for rights to use military settings in movies such as “Patriot Games� and “Top Gun,� more than $20 million in defense funds was awarded to Warner Brothers, Disney, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and other film companies since 1989 for entertainment on bases and production equipment.

The Defense Department spent $874 million on social services in California from 1989 to 1992. Apart from life and health insurance costs, many social serVicEs recipients were small businesses such as Fresno Halfway House, Tulare County Alcoholism Council, Tahoe Area Vietnam Veterans and Point Loma Convalescent Hospital.

One small company that has reaped profits supplying the military is Hans Olsen Egg Co. in the San Joaquin Valley town of Porterville. As an independent broker, owner Hans Olsen provides 3.6 million surplus eggs a week to Air Force bases in California and Nevada and military bases on the Pacific Rim. The military accounts for about one-third of his firm’s business, Olsen said.

The nonprofit Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties received $1.4 million since 1989 to process blood for the military.

More worrisome to the blood bank than its lost contract is the dwindling supply of available blood as bases are shut. Military personnel make excellent donors because they have been screened for AIDS and are generally in excellent health.

Times researcher Murielle Gamache contributed to this story.