Some war, some brother: The arms industry earned 632 billion dollars last year

The revenues of the 100 largest arms manufacturers in the world reached a total of 632 billion US dollars, which is an increase of 4,2 percent compared to 2022 - it is written in the report of the Swedish Institute for Peace Research SIPRI for the last year, it is written Nanny Vela.

"The most important development in 2023 was that European and American companies in particular were finally able to turn the growing demand caused by the war in Ukraine into increased revenues," explains Xiao Liang, one of the report's authors, in an interview with DW. "Many companies were still struggling in 2022 due to supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic."

Rusija

SIPRI states that the largest increase was recorded by Russian companies whose revenues in 2023 increased by 40 percent.

Missiles, fighter jets and drones are often produced in a multi-shift system to make up for heavy losses of materials on the front line, the report said.

However, there are only two Russian firms among the world's 100 largest arms companies:

"Most Russian companies stopped publishing revenue data in 2022," explains Xiao Liang. However, they are not all. The researchers from Stockholm find the data of the Rostec company, which ranks seventh among the world's arms manufacturers, especially useful. "It's actually a holding company with seven or eight different Russian companies that we previously had in our database." "We still have a pretty good insight into how these firms are developing," Liang points out.

Ukraine

The only Ukrainian company in the top 100 is JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry, which increased its revenues by 69 percent.

Does not havečka

German companies achieved an average increase in revenue of 7,5 percent.

There are four German companies among the world's 100 largest arms manufacturers: Rheinmetall, ThyssenKrupp, Hensolt and Diehl.

The largest increase in revenue - 30 percent - was recorded by the company Deal, which produces guided missiles and air defense systems.

Rheinmetall, Germany's largest company, ranks 26th on the list and has increased revenues by 10 percent. This company produces, among other things, 155 mm artillery ammunition, self-propelled howitzers and armored vehicles.

Europe

Despite the growth of individual companies, Europe as a whole recorded the lowest revenue growth in the arms sector, only 0,2 percent.

This is partly due to limited production capacities and relatively low defense budgets.

Some countries, such as France and Italy, saw a significant drop in income.

SAD

At the top of the list of the 100 largest companies in the world are still the American giants Lockheed Martin and RTX (formerly Rayton). Both companies saw a slight decline in revenue in 2023, which according to SIPRI is related to the limited availability of special components or raw materials needed for rocket production and in the aerospace industry.

So the problem is not demand, but supply chains. In general, smaller producers increased production faster than large corporations in 2023.

Asia

In Asia, above all, companies from South Korea and Japan significantly increased revenues, in response to growing tensions in the region.

From 2022, Japan is investing more in armaments than at any time since the end of World War II, and is seeing a 35 percent increase in revenue.

South Korean companies managed to break into the European market as well: Hyundai Rotem sells battle tanks to Poland. This was also reflected in the revenues of the arms industry, which went up by as much as 39 percent.

In China, the revenue of arms companies grew by only 2023 percent in 0,7, the slowest growth since 2019

Near East

Six of the top 100 arms producers are located in the Middle East. In 2023, their revenues increased by 18 percent and reached 19,6 billion dollars.

The revenues of three Israeli arms companies reached a record 13,6 billion dollars. Among these companies are the manufacturers of the "Iron Dome" protective system, which protects Israel from rocket attacks.