According to the report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) U.S. and Chinese companies dominated the global arms market in 2019, while West Asia made its first appearance among the 25 biggest weapons manufacturers.
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Key-Points
The U.S. arms industry accounted for 61% of sales by the world’s “Top 25” manufacturers last year, ahead of China’s 15.7%.
Total sales by the “Top 25” rose by 8.5% to $361 billion, or 50 times the annual budget of the UN’s peacekeeping operations.
Six U.S companies and three Chinese firms were in the top 10, rounded out by Britain’s BAE Systems in seventh spot.
S. companies Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics clinched the top five spots, while China’s AVIC, CETC and Norinco held spots six, eight and nine. U.S. group L3Harris Technologies was in 10th place.
For the first time, a company from the West Asia made it into the “Top 25”: EDGE, of the United Arab Emirates, was formed by the consolidation of some 25 defence entities in 2019.
India, however, continues to flounder in the domestic defence production arena. It remains stuck in the position of being the world’s second-largest arms importer, just behind Saudi Arabia.
No major proposed `Make in India’ project to manufacture fighter jets, diesel-electric submarines, light-utility helicopters, minesweepers or infantry combat vehicles has actually taken off in the last six years.
