Should the arms manufacturing sector fare better than health, education and social care?

Republished from Armourers thrive by damaging people & planet

As the global economy contracted by more than 3%, the sales of arms and military services increased by 1.3% in real terms, compared with 2019

Ceren Sagir draws attention to the sales of the top 100 weapons companies in 2020 which were 17% higher last year than in 2015, according to the latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Despite the need for pandemic-related health staffing, schools’ ventilation, the support needed by lockdown affected businesses and carbon-reducing measures, 2020 was the sixth consecutive year of growth in arms sales to governments.

SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner said: “The industry giants were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services.

“In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.”

The top five arms firms were all from the United States, with Lockheed-Martin, which counts F-35 fighter jets and various types of missiles among its bestsellers.

Chinese firms accounted for the second-largest share and Britain was in third place, with arms sales up by 6.2% compared with 2019, BAE Systems being the highest-placed European firm.

The arms sales of the three Israeli companies listed in the top 100 reached $10.4bn (£76bn), 2% of the total.

Of the top-producing countries, only France and Russia saw their firms’ sales decline last year.

Sipri said that the firms had benefited from the broad injection of government cash into economies, as well as specific measures designed to help arms companies, such as accelerated payments or order schedules.

 

 

 

 o