2024: Top 9 military drones in the world by export volume
In 2024, the Turkish attack operational-tactical medium-altitude drone Bayraktar TB2 became the most exported military drone in the world. This is stated in the Clash Report study, the results of which were published on November 20, 2024. Read more here.
2023
Global arms manufacturers' revenues for the year rose 4.2% to $632 billion
At the end of November 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) presented a report according to which revenues from the sale of weapons and military services by the hundred largest companies in the industry in 2023 reached $632 billion, which is 4.2% higher compared to 2022.
Arms revenue growth was seen in all regions, with particularly sharp increases among companies based in Russia and the Middle East. Overall, smaller producers responded more effectively to explosive demand growth related to military operations in Gaza and Ukraine, rising tensions in East Asia, and rearmament programs elsewhere.
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As a result, almost 75% of companies that noted a drop in demand in 2022 were able to increase revenues from the sale of weapons on an annualized basis. It is noteworthy that most of the companies whose revenues increased were in the lower half of the top 100, that is, they belonged to smaller manufacturers. Many organizations have also launched recruitment campaigns, hoping for more sales in the future as well. Given that complex weapons systems have longer delivery times, such hopes are quite justified.
Forty-one of the top 100 companies are based in the United States and accounted for $317 billion in revenue, which is half of the total arms sales among the top 100 companies. Since 2018, all five leading manufacturers are based in the United States. However, Lockheed Martin and RTX, the world's two largest gun manufacturers, were among those to register a drop in sales revenue. Such large manufacturers often depend on complex, tiered supply chains, which has become their vulnerability amid ongoing supply problems in 2023. These problems affected the sectors of aeronautics and rocket science especially hard.[1]
Record arms exports from Israel - $13.1 billion while doubling in five years
Exports of military products Israel in 2023 reached a record level, increasing by $500 million to $13.1 billion, which is twice as much as five years ago, Ministry of Defence the country reported on June 17, 2024.
The portfolio of orders of defense companies in the world has reached a new record
At the end of December 2023, it became known that the order portfolio of the world's largest defense companies had updated the record. This is due to growing geopolitical tensions and armed clashes in various regions of the world.
The released data, according to the Financial Times, is based on an analysis of the 15 largest companies in the defense sector. These include, and the AmericanLockheed Martin General Dynamics ,, and Boeing the BritishBAE Systems the German Rheinmetall South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace. It is estimated that at the end of 2022 - the last for which data for the entire year is available - the total portfolio of outstanding orders of the enterprises in question amounted to $777.6 billion. For comparison: two years earlier, this figure was $701.2 billion. Thus, over the specified period, an increase of more than 10% was recorded.
The trend continues in 2023, in the first six months of which the total volume of pending orders in the companies in question reached $764 billion. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2022, global military spending increased by 3.7% in real terms, reaching a new high of approximately $2.24 trillion.
According to an analysis by the Financial Times, Hanwha Aerospace recorded the largest growth: the volume of outstanding orders increased from $2.4 billion in 2020 to $15.2 billion at the end of 2022. German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall showed an almost double increase during the period under review: its order book grew from $14.8 billion to $27.9 billion. At BAE Systems, the indicator increased from $61.8 billion to $70.8 billion, and in the first six months of 2023, the order portfolio of this company reached a record $84.2 billion.[2]
2022
Reduction in the volume of arms sales in the world by 3.5% to $597 billion
In 2022, the total revenue from the sale of weapons and military services of the 100 largest companies in the world amounted to approximately $597 billion. This is 3.5% less than the previous year. Such data are given in the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which was released on December 4, 2023.
It is noted that geopolitical tensions around the world contributed to a sharp increase in demand for weapons and military equipment in 2022. However, despite the current situation, many American and European arms companies were unable to significantly increase production capacity. According to the authors of the report, the negative dynamics is explained by several factors - labor shortages, rising costs and disruptions in supply chains. In addition, some suppliers did not have time to fulfill the orders placed at the end of 2022, and therefore the data on them are not reflected in the general annual statistics.
Total revenues from the sale of weapons by 42 manufacturers in the United States, included in the Top 100, fell by 7.9% on an annualized basis - to $302 billion in 2022. They account for 51% of the total revenue in the segment under consideration. At the same time, 32 American companies that fell into the rating faced a reduction in revenues. The list includes 26 suppliers from Europe: their total revenue rose by 0.9% year-on-year and reached $121 billion in 2022. The rating also includes 22 weapons manufacturers from Asia and Oceania: their total income grew by 3.1% on an annualized basis and reached $134 billion in 2022.
The SIPRI report also mentioned two Russian companies - Rostec and United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). They occupy 10th and 36th places with revenues of $16.81 billion and $3.95 billion, respectively. The drop in income year-on-year was recorded at 9.9% and 18%.[3]
The largest arms importers
Exports of military equipment from Germany fell by 1 billion euros
At the end of 2022, the volume of exports of military equipment from Germany amounted to approximately €8.36 billion. For comparison: a year earlier, the figure was €9.35 billion. Thus, the fall in exports amounted to about €1 billion, as reported by the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection in early January 2023. Read more here.
Ukraine came out on the third place in the import of weapons
At the end of 2022, Ukraine became the third largest importer of the main types of weapons on a global scale. Such data are contained in the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which was released on March 13, 2023.
It is noted that Ukraine imported very few weapons from the moment of independence in 1991 to the end of 2021. However, the situation changed at the beginning of 2022 due to the current geopolitical situation: the United States and many European states began to send large amounts of military assistance to Ukraine. As a result, in 2022, this country became the third largest importer of weapons, second only to Qatar and India. The main supplier of weapons to Ukraine in 2022 was the United States, which accounted for 35% of the country's total imports.
In general, the document considers two five-year periods - 2013-2017. and 2018-2022. It is noted that the United States remains the largest exporter of weapons: their share in the world market increased from 33% during the first of the indicated periods to 40% during the second., Russia located in the second position, on the contrary, reduced arms sales from 22% to 16%. Closes the top three, France which increased the volume of exports from 7.1% to 11%. The largest buyers of Russian weapons during 2018-2022 were India (31%), (China 23%) and (Egypt 9.3%).
The largest importer of weapons in the period from 2018 to 2022 was India, which accounted for 11% of all purchases. Moreover, the most weapons in this country came from Russia - approximately 45%. In second place in the list of the largest importers is Saudi Arabia with 9.6%, in third place is Qatar with 6.4%. The top five also includes Australia (4.7%) and China (4.6%). It is said that about 83% of the PRC's weapons are purchased from Russia.[4]
The Russian corporation entered the top 40 most profitable defense companies in the world
The Russian corporation Tactical Missile Weapons (KTRV) has entered the top 40 most profitable defense companies in the world. The corresponding rating for 2021 in August 2022 was published by Defense News. Read more here.
2021
Israel sells record volume of weapons
On April 12, 2022, the Israeli Ministry of Defense released a report according to which Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2021. Officials cite a sharp increase in demand for Israeli-made weapons. Read more here.
The largest arms exporters by share in the world market for 5 years
World arms shipments up 4.6%
In 2017-2021. arms supplies around the world increased by 4.6% compared to five previous years. Exports of Russian weapons during this time decreased by 26%, while the United States, by contrast, increased shipments by 14%. Such data in mid-March 2022 were published by specialists from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The decline in Russian exports was almost entirely due to a decrease in arms supplies to India and Vietnam. However, several large deliveries of Russian weapons to India are expected in the coming years.
 | Behind the small reduction in the combined volume of international arms supplies are large differences in regional trends, says Peter Weseman, senior researcher at the SIPRI Arms Program. - While there have been some positive developments, including the fact that South American arms imports have reached their lowest level in 50 years, the continued high level of arms imports in regions such as Europe, East Asia, Oceania and the Middle East has contributed to an alarming arms build-up. |  |
According to SIPRI data for 2017-2021, the United States and Russia remain the largest arms exporters in the world with shares of 39% and 19%, respectively.
India tops the list of the largest importers of weapons, but shipments there have decreased by 21% in five years. The import of weapons into Europe increased, it amounted to 19%, the European region accounted for 13% of the total world import volume. To Europe In the largest importers of steel, and Great Britain, Norway and Netherlands the import of weapons "was Ukraine very limited," the researchers noted.
In 2017-2021, China was the fourth largest arms exporter, while Germany was the fifth largest. In 2017-21, arms exports from China fell 31% from the previous five-year period, while arms exports from Germany fell 19%.[5]
2020: Russian arms sales fall for 3 years in a row
Sales of Russian weapons in 2020 decreased by 6.5% compared to 2019 - from $28.2 billion to $26.4 billion, respectively. This is reported in a study conducted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and released in early December 2021.
It is noted that the figure has decreased for three years in a row. Russian arms companies showed one of the sharpest drops. Experts believe that this is due to the completion of the state program for 2011-2020, as well as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, due to which the delivery time has increased.
Global arms sales from the 100 largest manufacturers in 2020 reached $531 billion, an increase of 1.3% compared to 2019. The study looked at the 100 largest manufacturers of such products.
The United States remains the largest arms supplier in the world - the share of American companies was 54%. Together, the total sales of 41 companies in the top 100 increased by 1.9% in 2020, to $285 billion.
In second place was China. The combined arms sales of five Chinese companies from the top 100 amounted to $66.8 billion in 2020, which is 1.5% more than in the previous year. Chinese firms accounted for 13% of total sales in the world, European companies - 21%.
SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner believes that the demand for military services and weapons was supported by states, and spending on military services grew in most countries of the world. However, the military industry also felt the consequences of the pandemic - for example, the French arms factory Thales lost 5.8% of sales in the spring of 2020, when a lockdown was announced in many states. Some other companies have also complained of supply chain disruptions due to anti-coronavirus measures.[6]
2019: Russian companies' share of global arms market halved
The share of Russian companies in the global arms market has halved. This is evidenced by data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 2019.
The top 25 largest arms manufacturers include two Russian companies - Almaz-Antey and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). Their joint share was 3.9%, while in 2018 companies from the Russian Federation accounted for 8.6% of the market. The revenues of these companies in 2019 decreased by a total of $634 million.
The United Aircraft Corporation dropped out of the rating, whose revenue decreased by $1.3 billion. SIPRI researcher Alexandra Kuimova believes that the challenges for the corporation were "competition in the domestic market and a reduction in government spending on fleet modernization."
| | Sanctions against Russian companies and government-imposed restrictions on [arms] acquisitions from Chinese firms appear to have played a role in limiting the global presence of Chinese and Russian companies, explained SIPRI senior research fellow Simon Vezeman. | |
In a 2018 report, Russia ranked second in the world arms market, behind the United States. Experts do not name the position of the Russian Federation in the study for 2019. At the same time, it is reported that the United States remained in the lead. According to SIPRI estimates, only 12 American companies with a total share of 61% were among the largest military manufacturers in 2019. Five military-industrial companies that led the top 25 are based in the United States: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics, their sales amounted to $166 billion.
China ranks second with 16%. Another 18% is accounted for by six Western European companies.
Global arms sales from the 25 largest manufacturers in 2019 amounted to $361 billion, which is 8.5% more than a year earlier.[7]
Notes
- ↑ World’s top arms producers see revenues rise on the back of wars and regional tensions
- ↑ Global defence orders surge as geopolitical tensions mount
- ↑ Rise in SIPRI Top 100 arms sales revenue delayed by production challenges and backlogs
- ↑ Trends In International Arms Transfers, 2022
- ↑ Europe's arms imports jump amid tensions with Russia, says think-tank SIPRI
- ↑ Business as usual? Arms sales of SIPRI Top 100 arms companies continue to grow amid pandemic
- ↑ Global arms industry: Sales by the top 25 companies up 8.5 per cent; Big players active in Global South
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