With the wars some industrial sectors are penalized
but others are favored as the weapons industry. SIPRI (Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute) has released its annual report on the arms market,
the data help us to understand some geopolitical facts.
The Arms industry
Out of the top 10 companies in the world of weaponry
belonging to NATO countries, seven are American and three European and they
make almost 50% of the global turnover.
Arms sales and military services of the largest manufacturing
companies in the Top-100 compiled by SIPRI, reached in 2014 $ 401 billion.
Among emerging producers there is Russia, which places 11 companies among the
top 100 in the world.
For the fourth consecutive year, arms sales and
military services of the largest manufacturers and sellers of weapons declined.
However, the overall decline in sales of the SIPRI Top 100 arms remains
moderate, with a reduction of 1.5% between 2013 and 2014. The decrease is due on
the one hand to lower sales of arms of companies headquartered in North America
and in Western Europe and on the other hand
to increased arms sales of the companies in other regions of the world.
US
The United States confirmed their leading role in arms
manufacturing and sales. 38 US companies
are in the Top-100 and they manage 54% of the global market. The arms sales of
these industries fell by 4.1% between 2013 and 2014. The Loockheed Martin is
still the leading company in the world, in 2014 it sold more than 37 billion dollars
of arms.
Europe
Sales of arms of the European Western companies fell
by 7.4% in 2014. Only German (+ 9.4%) and Swiss companies (+ 11.2%) showed an
increase. The increase in arms sales in Germany is due to the significant
growth in turnover of shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp (+ 29.5%), while the Swiss
Pilatus Aircraft has benefited from the growing demand for its training
aircraft, which has re-launched sales of Switzerland. The companies that
represent the seven other Western European countries in the top 100 all show a
decline in total sales.
Russia
Despite the difficult economic situation of the
country, sales of Russian weapons industry continued to increase in 2014. The
number of Russian companies ranked among the Top-100 rose from 9 to 11. New
entries are companies that specialize in precision and electronic warfare
systems, field where Moscow is becoming the first world power thanks to a
process of modernization of its armed forces controlled by Putin.
On the contrary, the sale of weapons of Ukrainian companies
has decreased substantially. The visible decline in sales of Ukrainian
companies is mainly due to the destruction caused by the conflict in the east
of the country, the loss of the Russian market and the collapse of the local
currency.
China
China is not in the report because of the lack of
accessible data. Analysts, however, confirm that the Chinese industry has
increased by at least 5 times the production and sale of weapons and at least 9
companies are definitely present in the Top-100.
Emerging manufacturers reinforce its presence in the Top-100
In 2013, SIPRI has introduced a category "new
producers" to better analyze the development of companies in the countries
that had declared precise objectives in the military field. In 2014 this
category includes Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey. Sales of combined arms
of companies headquartered in these countries represent 3.7% of the total Top-100.
Their revenue increased by 5.1% between 2013 and 2014.
Who needs wars?
The production of military equipment and services, the
market arms control and distribution of global weapons, are the domain of the
US and NATO countries.
The media image of the West World on the defensive,
threatened by bad imperialist nations, does not seem to correspond to reality.
In order to assure the development of its arms
industry the Occident creates favorable conditions to increase their sales: regional
crises, revolutions, civil conflicts, as well as the development of the entire
sector security and intelligence, fueling an industry of which Americans and
Europeans they are world leaders.
Anouar E.
Hello Anouar,
ReplyDeleteI find your article very interesting.
As you mentioned Ukraine, I just want to add what I have heard about the arms trafficking there. Because of the war with Russia, there is an increasing number of people acquiring illegal weapons in the country. Indeed, this fact may be dangerous on a national but also on an international scale, as there is arms smuggling going west through EU countries like Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia which are Ukraine's border countries. On a national scale, the consequences are that the number of crimes significantly raised since the beginning of the conflict in Donbas area. The gun ownership was something very rare in the past.
Of course, my comment is purely based on social consequences of the arms trade but it shows, at a certain extent, what can money hunger lead to.
Illya G.
Hello Illya,
DeleteI agree with your opinion. In my article I talked about the arms trade (legal and controlled) but it would be interesting to do a research about the arms trafficking (illegal and uncontrolled).
Because of the various conflicts around the world, trafficking in arms has significant growth becoming one of the most important in the world. As a result, the illegal arms trade increases crime and creates social problems in the countries where there are wars.
Anouar E.
Hi Anouar,
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving us this article which explains from another point of view why there are still many conflicts on a worldwide scale today even if we pursue so urgently a peaceful world: the arms trade, a hunger for money.
Fortunately, it seems that the total arms sale has, although slightly, a trend of decrease in recent years from the first graph showed in the article. Do you think this trend will keep on? Or there is still chance for the arms industry to earn a further development afterwards?
Bei H.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHello Bei,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
I think that the growth of the arms trade has decreased because in the other side there was an increase in the illegal trafficking of weapons, which unfortunately is not controlled and it is difficult to get accurate data.
The companies who produce weapons will continue to earn money, because I think that the growth of the production of weapons of emerging countries is linked to companies in developed countries who invest and finance companies in countries like Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey.
Anouar E.