United States' weapons makers increased their domination of the global arms industry in 2018 with the 10 top firms making and selling weapons of war all coming from the U.S., said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
The latest SIPRI Arms Industry Database shows U.S. war industry firms positioned in all five top spots. SIPRI, an international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control, and disarmament said this is the first time this has occurred since 2002.
Global sales of arms and military services by the military sector's 100 largest companies (excluding those in China) came to $420 billion in 2018, an increase of 4.6 percent compared to 2017.
The Arms Industry Database shows sales of arms and military services by the top 100 firms has jumped by 47 percent since 2002 (the year from which comparable data is first available). It excludes Chinese companies due to the lack of data to make a reliable estimate.
U.S. firms are making more money than ever selling lethal weapons. Revenue for all the 43 U.S. firms in the top 100 list amounts to $246 billion, or 59% of all arms sales by the top 100 firms.
Lockheed Martin Corporation retained the title as the world's largest maker of war weapons, accounting for 11% of global sales with its $47 billion sales. Among its many weapons of war are the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet and the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet. The company reported revenues of $53.8 billion in 2018 and a net income of $5.0 billion.
The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, The Raytheon Company and General Dynamics Corporation round out the top five spots. Combined, these top five U.S. weapons firms accounted for $148 billion -- or more than a third of global military spending in 2018.
SIPRI said a notable development in the U.S. arms industry in 2018 was the growing trend towards mergers and consolidations among some of the largest arms makers. Two of the top five, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, made multibillion-dollar acquisitions in 2018.
"US companies are preparing for the new arms modernization program that was announced in 2017 by President Trump," said Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI's Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. "Large US companies are merging to be able to produce the new generation of weapon systems and therefore be in a better position to win contracts from the US Government."
Combined arms sales of 27 top European weapons firms in the top 100 improved slightly to $102 billion. United Kingdom firms accounted for $35.1 billion in 2018, the highest among European nations.U.K.-based BAE Systems were the largest arms seller outside of the United States in 2018.
The 10 Russian arms companies sold $36.2 billion worth of military equipment and services in 2018, roughly the same as in 2017.
SIPRI said 80 of the 100 top arms producers in 2018 were based in the U.S., Europe, and Russia. Of the remaining 20, six were based in Japan, three each for Israel, India and South Korea, two in Turkey and one each for Australia, Canada, and Singapore.
