Which European arms companies are profiting the most from the world's wars?
Companies that produce weapons and military services increased their profits worldwide by 4.2% to reach profits of 598 billion euros in 2023, according to an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI). In Europe, profits at arms companies rose 0.2%, a relatively smaller regional increase that does not exactly reflect an increase in orders and demand, according to the study.
The main arms companies that kept their place in the top 100 are the pan-European company Airbus, Leonardo in Italy, Thales in France, Rolls Royce in the UK and Rheinmetall in Germany.
Airbus, a company best known for making aircraft, saw its arms profits make up 18% of its total revenue in 2023. The Franco-German company is headquartered in France and its weapons have been linked to the conflict in Yemen. , as well as with surveillance projects against immigrants trying to enter Europe through Mediterranean countries.
In 2018, Airbus signed a $600 million (€570) deal with Israel Aerospace Industries, as part of ongoing cooperation between the two countries in drone warfare, allowing Heron TP drones to be leased to the German Ministry of Defense. Protection.
German arms companies saw their revenues rise sharply, largely as a result of demand related to the war in Ukraine. Rheinmetall, a company based in Dusseldorf, increased its profits by 10%, due to the production of 155 mm ammunition and deliveries of its Leopard tanks to Kiev.
Profits from these companies are likely to be larger than the data suggests, says Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher for SIPRI. Smaller companies in Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, Norway and the Czech Republic received a large increase in orders, launched recruitment efforts and significantly increased their profits, indicating an overall increase in demand that has not yet been reflected in player earnings. bigger ones.
"We will see in the coming years that this is just the beginning, because we have seen how the smaller players have been involved in the growth of revenues, in this global growth. But the biggest players are still not reflecting these demands," said Scarazzato. "Once these larger companies, both in Europe and the US, create these demands, we will see significant growth."
Turkish companies also saw a big increase, partly due to the country's ambitions to become independent in arms production, but also due to exports linked to the war in Ukraine. Turkish company Baykar, which makes weaponized UAVs widely used in Ukraine, saw its profits rise 25% to reach $1.9 billion (€1.8).
Elsewhere, SIPRI's analysis shows that all arms companies were focusing on modernizing their nuclear weapons, with nuclear development an important source of profit for arms companies.
In the United Kingdom, the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which designs, manufactures and maintains nuclear warheads, recorded the largest percentage increase in profit of any British company in the top 100, reaching $2.2 billion (€2.0).
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