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Expenditures on weapons and armaments have risen around the world. According to a report by the Sipri Peace Research Institute, total sales in 2019 were US $ 361 billion, most of which came from the United States.
Last year, the sales of arms companies and suppliers increased again. According to a report by the Sipri Peace Research Institute, the world’s 25 largest arms companies generated $ 361 billion from the sale of arms and military services. That was 8.5 percent more than in 2018 and 15 percent more than in 2015.
The United States tops the list of the largest arms dealers. The twelve US companies included in the ranking represent 61 percent of sales worldwide. Only the five largest arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics had sales of $ 166 billion.
German companies not in the top 25
China remains second in the global arms trade with 16 percent. The four Chinese companies listed by Sipri increased their sales by 4.8 percent in one year. “Chinese arms companies benefit from the People’s Liberation Army’s military modernization programs,” says Sipri researcher Nan Tian. Most of the products are sold in your own country.
The third largest arms dealer is Russia with a 3.9 percent share. Foreign exports of Russian arms manufacturers are restricted by sanctions resulting from the conflict in Ukraine and the occupation of the Crimean peninsula. Due to the economic situation, the modernization of the Russian army has also slowed down, says Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, director of the Sipri research program on arms trade and military spending. “This, of course, means a decrease in the sales of the Russian arms industry, because its main customer, the Russian government, orders less.”
The six largest Western European companies together accounted for 18 percent. German companies are not in the top 25.
Association criticism
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace criticized the increase in spending on weapons and called for a “radical rethink”. “An undesirable development is rarely shown so clearly: hundreds of millions of people around the world are threatened by the corona pandemic, millions are infected and countless people do not have adequate medical care,” said the disarmament expert of Greenpeace, Alexander Lurz.
“It is a scandal that the sales of the 25 largest arms companies in the world are increasing while there is no money for a sustainable fight against hunger,” criticized Mathias Mogge, general secretary of Welthungerhilfe, the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
The Sipri Béraud-Sudreau researcher says the rise in arms spending is also a reflection of tensions in international politics. This development has already been observed since Russia occupied the Crimean peninsula in 2014. After US President Donald Trump, who has now been removed, moved into the White House in 2016, it became stronger.
