Arms sales increased in the world: SIPRI report

 Arms sales increased in the world

A few children stand on top of the missile wreckage. Photo: AFP

Global arms sales surged last year, an annual report has revealed. The reasons are said to be the war in Ukraine and Gaza and tensions in the Asian region. This information was revealed in a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which was published on Monday.

According to the report, sales of major arms manufacturers based in Russia and the Middle East have increased significantly due to global unrest.

The report projects that the top 100 arms companies in the world will sell $632 billion worth of military services and weapons in 2023, a 4.2% increase over the previous year.

The authors of the report noted that the world's arms manufacturers were struggling to meet demand as revenues bottomed out in 2022. But many of the arms makers turned around last year by ramping up production. Last year, 100 companies sold more than $1 billion worth of weapons, indicating this increase in demand.

(SIPRI) Military Expenditure and Arms Production Researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said in a statement, "Arms revenue increased significantly in 2023. This trend of growth will continue in 2024." There is a possibility of staying.

Additionally, according to Scarazzato, the top 100 companies in the world's arms sales "have not yet fully met demand." Many businesses have begun to hire more employees. So the companies seem to be optimistic about increasing sales in the future.

SIPRI claims that growing East Asian tensions, the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and the sale of weapons to other areas are all contributing to the effectiveness of smaller arms companies in satisfying demand.

"Many of these manufacturing companies may be working with a specific component or building a system that requires a specific supply chain," Nan Tian, ​​director of SIPRI's military spending and weapons production program, told AFP.

Sales of US companies among the top arms makers rose 2.5 percent last year. 41 of the world's 100 arms companies are US companies.

To date, half of the world's arms sales have come from these 41 companies. Earnings for the top two arms manufacturers in the world, Artix (formerly Raytheon Technologies) and Lockheed Martin, fell 1.3 and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Source: AFP