Arms industry
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The arms industry, also known as the defense (or defence) industry, military industry, or the arms trade, is a global
In 2022, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated global military expenditure at $2.24 trillion, the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI. Global spending grew by 19 per cent over the decade 2013–22 and has risen every year since 2015.[1] The combined arms-sales of the top 100 largest arms-producing companies and military services companies totaled $597 billion in 2022, according to SIPRI.[2] According to the institute, the five largest arms exporters in 2018–22 were the United States, Russia, France, China and Germany. Together, they supplied 76% of the world's arms exports in 2018–22.[3]
Many
History
This section includes a improve this section by introducing more precise citations. (August 2020) ) |
During the early modern period, England, France, Sweden and the Netherlands became self-sufficient in arms production, with diffusion and migration of skilled workers to more peripheral countries such as Portugal and Russia.
The modern arms industry emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as a product of the creation and expansion of the first large military–industrial companies. As smaller countries (and even newly industrializing countries like Russia and Japan) could no longer produce cutting-edge military equipment with their indigenous resources and capacity, they increasingly began to contract the manufacture of military equipment, such as battleships, artillery pieces and rifles to foreign firms.
In 1854, the
In the American Civil War in 1861
This industrial innovation in the defense industry was adopted by
In 1885, France decided to capitalize on this increasingly lucrative trade and repealed its ban on weapon exports. The regulatory framework for the period up to the
The volume of the arms trade greatly increased during the 20th century, and it began to be used as a political tool, especially during the Cold War where the United States and the USSR supplied weapons to their proxies across the world, particularly third world countries (see Nixon Doctrine).[8]
Sectors
Land-based weapon
This category includes everything from
Small arms
The
Aerospace systems
Encompassing military aircraft (both land-based and
Several of the world's
Cybersecurity industry
The cybersecurity industry is becoming the most important defense industry as cyber attacks are being deemed as one of the greatest risks to defense in the next ten years as cited by the NATO review in 2013.[11] Therefore, high levels of investment has been placed in the cybersecurity industry to produce new software to protect the ever-growing transition to digitally run hardware. For the military industry, it is vital that protections are used for systems used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence gathering.
Nevertheless, cyber attacks and cyber attackers have become more advanced in their field using techniques such as Dynamic Trojan Horse Network (DTHN) Internet Worm,
As the threat to computers grows, the demand for cyber protection will rise, resulting in the growth of the cybersecurity industry. It is expected that the industry will be dominated by the defense and homeland security agencies that will make up 40% of the industry.[12]
International arms transfers
According to research institute
SIPRI has identified 67 countries as exporters of major weapons in 2014–18. The top 5 exporters during the period were responsible for 75 percent of all arms exports. The composition of the five largest exporters of arms changed between 2014 and 2018 remained unchanged compared to 2009–13, although their combined total exports of major arms were 10 percent higher. In 2014–18 there can be seen significant increases in arms exports from the US, France and Germany, while Chinese exports rose marginally and Russian exports decreased.[14]
In 2014–18, 155 countries (about three-quarters of all countries) imported major weapons. The top 5 recipients accounted for 33 percent of the total arms imports during the period. The top five arms importers - Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria - accounted for 35 percent of total arms imports in 2014–18. Of these, Saudi Arabia and India were among the top five importers in both 2009–13 and 2014–18.
In 2014–18, the volume of major arms international transfers was 7.8 percent higher than in 2009-13 and 23 percent than that in 2004–08. The largest arms importer was Saudi Arabia, importing arms primarily from the United States, United Kingdom and France. Between 2009–13 and 2014–18, the flow of arms to the Middle East increased by 87 percent. Also including India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria, the top five importers received 35 percent of the total arms imports, during 2014–18. Besides, the largest exporters were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China.[14]
The
World's largest arms exporters
Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs) expressed in millions. These numbers may not represent real financial flows as prices for the underlying arms can be as low as zero in the case of military aid. The following are estimates from
Overall global arms exports rose of about 6 per-cent in the last 5 years compared to the period 2010-2014 and increased by 20 per-cent since 2005–2009.[20]
Rankings for exporters below a billion dollars are less meaningful, as they can be swayed by single contracts. A much more accurate picture of export volume, free from yearly fluctuations, is presented by 5-year moving averages.
Next to SIPRI, there are several other sources that provide data on international transfers of arms. These include national reports by national governments about arms exports, the UN register on conventional arms, and an annual publication by the
World's largest postwar arms exporter
SIPRI uses the "trend-indicator values" (TIV). These are based on the known unit production costs of weapons and represent the transfer of military resources rather than the financial value of the transfer.[22]
2022 Rank |
Supplier | Arms Exp (in million TIV) |
---|---|---|
1 | United States | 14,515 |
2 | France | 3,021 |
3 | Russia | 2,820 |
4 | China | 2,017 |
5 | India | 1,900[19] |
6 | Italy | 1,825 |
7 | Germany | 1,510 |
8 | United Kingdom | 1,504 |
9 | Spain | 950 |
10 | Israel | 831 |
1950–2022 Rank |
Supplier | Arms Exp (in billion TIV) |
---|---|---|
1 | United States | 729,161 |
2 | Soviet Union[23] | 450,786 |
3 | Russia[24] | 155,926 |
4 | United Kingdom | 144,569 |
5 | France | 136,347 |
6 | Germany | 90,701 |
7 | China | 61,283 |
8 | Italy | 37,328 |
9 | Czechoslovakia[25] | 31,066 |
10 | Netherlands | 25,632 |
World's largest arms importers
Units are in Trend Indicator Values expressed as millions of
2022 Rank |
Recipient | Arms Imp (in million TIV) |
---|---|---|
1 | India | 3,342 |
2 | Qatar | 2,846 |
3 | Ukraine | 2,644 |
4 | Saudi Arabia | 2,272 |
5 | Kuwait | 2,249 |
6 | Pakistan | 1,565 |
7 | Japan | 1,291 |
8 | Norway | 848 |
9 | United States | 837 |
10 | Israel | 829 |
Arms import rankings fluctuate heavily as countries enter and exit wars. Export data tend to be less volatile as exporters tend to be more technologically advanced and have stable production flows. 5-year moving averages present a much more accurate picture of import volume, free from yearly fluctuations.
List of major weapon manufacturers
This is a list of the world's largest arms manufacturers and other military service companies who profit the most from the war economy, their origin is shown as well. The information is based on a list published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute for 2022.[27]
Rank | Company name | Defense Revenue (US$ billions) |
% of Total Revenue from Defense |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lockheed Martin | 59.39 | 90 |
2 | RTX Corporation | 39.57 | 59 |
3 | Northrop Grumman | 32.30 | 88 |
4 | Boeing | 29.30 | 44 |
5 | General Dynamics | 28.32 | 72 |
6 | BAE Systems | 26.90 | 97 |
7 | Norinco | 22.06 | 27 |
8 | Aviation Industry Corporation of China | 20.62 | 25 |
9 | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | 19.56 | 44 |
10 | Rostec | 16.81 | 55 |
11 | China Electronics Technology Group Corporation | 15.08 | 27 |
12 | L3Harris Technologies | 12.63 | 74 |
13 | Leonardo S.p.A. | 12.47 | 83 |
14 | Airbus | 12.09 | 20 |
15 | China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation | 11.77 | 32 |
Arms control
Arms control refers to international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction.[28] It is typically exercised through the use of diplomacy, which seeks to persuade governments to accept such limitations through agreements and treaties, although it may also be forced upon non-consenting governments.
Notable international arms control treaties
- Geneva Protocol on chemical and biological weapons, 1925
- Outer Space Treaty, signed and entered into force 1967
- Biological Weapons Convention, signed 1972, entered into force 1975
- Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), 1987
- Chemical Weapons Convention, signed 1993, entered into force 1997
- Ottawa Treaty on anti-personnel land mines, signed 1997, entered into force 1999
- New START Treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in April 2010, entered into force in February 2011
- Arms Trade Treaty, concluded in 2013, entered into force on 24 December 2014.[29]
See also
- Arms race
- Arms deal (disambiguation)
- Arms embargo
- Arms trafficking
- Campaign Against Arms Trade
- Cyber-arms industry
- Disarmament
- Guns versus butter model
- History of military technology
- List of chemical arms control agreements
- List of United States defense contractors
- List of most-produced firearms
- Military Keynesianism
- Naval conference (disambiguation)
- Nuclear disarmament
- Offset agreement
- Peace and conflict studies
- Peace dividend
- Permanent war economy
- Private military company
- Small Arms and Light Weapons(SALW)
- Small arms trade
- Torture trade
- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
References
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- ^ "US Arms Exports Hit Record High in Fiscal 2023". January 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c Fleurant, Aude; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T.; Tian, Nan; Kuimova, Alexandra (March 2019). "TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL ARMS TRANSFERS, 2018" (PDF). sipri.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
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- ^ "The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world, 2022 | SIPRI". www.sipri.org. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Barry Kolodkin. "What Is Arms Control?". About.com, US Foreign Policy. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original (Article) on September 3, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
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