Stockholm: The world’s largest weapons manufacturer mostly avoided the economic decline caused by Covid-19 and recorded last year’s profit growth for the sixth consecutive year, according to a report published on Monday.
Governments around the world continue to buy weapons during a pandemic and some also pass the steps to help their large weapons companies, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Overall, 100 top weapons companies saw their profits up 1.3 percent in 2019 to a record $ 531 billion, despite a global economic contract of more than three percent.
“Military producers are mostly protected by sustainable government demand for military goods and services,” said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner in the annual assessment of the Institute’s weapon company.
“In most parts of the world, military spending grows and some governments even accelerate payments to the weapons industry to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.” The top Five Arms company is from the United States, Lockheed-Martin which calculates F-35 fighter jets and various types of missiles among the best-selling ones that consolidate the first place with sales of $ 58.2 billion.
The British Bae system, in sixth position, is a European company in the highest position, right in front of three Chinese groups.
– Rise China – “The rise of China as the main weapons producer has been driven by its aim to become more independent in the production of weapons and with the application of an ambitious modernization program,” said the report.
While Chinese weapons sales have grown, they still regret US and British companies, accounting as many as 13 percent of the top 100 weapons sales in 2020.
Sales by five Chinese companies in Top 100 reached around $ 66.8 billion in 2020, up 1.5 percent in the previous year.
“In the past few years, Chinese weapons companies have benefited from the country’s military modernization program and focus on military-civil fusion,” said Senior Researcher Senior Sipri Nan Tian.
“They have become some of the most advanced military technology producers in the world.” From the main producing countries, only France and Russia saw a decline in sales of their company last year.
The Institute said the company has benefited from a broad cash injection into the economy, as well as specific steps designed to help weapons companies such as payment acceleration or order schedules.
And when a military contract usually reaches several years, companies can benefit before the health crisis occurs.
“However, regardless of this and other factors, the production of global weapons is not immune to the impact of the pandemic,” the report said, pointing to Thales France who blamed the reduction in arm 5.8 percent in locking disorders.
The report highlights that the level of profit increase has slowed substantially between 2019 and 2020, and notes that the steps taken to stop the spread of the virus have disrupted the supply chain in the weapons industry as they have throughout the economy.