Turkish arms firms see sales rise by 10 percent

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish arms companies’ sales rose by more than 10 percent in 2015, according to market analysis released Monday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) analysis listed two Turkish companies -- ASELSAN and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) -- among the world’s top 100 arms firms.

Their sales climbed 10.2 percent over the year.

ASELSAN’s sales stood at $1 billion for the year -- up from $979 million in 2014 -- while TAI recorded sales of $890 million, an increase on last year’s figure of $736 million.

Both companies improved their standing on last year’s figures, with ASELSAN rising from 69th to 74th position and TAI climbing to 78th from 91st.

The report cited strong domestic demand and improving exports for their improved performance.

Sales from emerging economies including Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey rose by 15.9 percent. South Korean companies increased their sales by 31.7 percent while the combined sales of India’s ranked companies grew by 9.3 percent.

Globally, arms sales fell by 0.6 percent -- the fifth consecutive annual drop, although the 2015 market was worth $370.7 billion to the top 100 firms.

“The sales of arms and military services companies in the SIPRI Top 100 have fallen for the fifth consecutive year,” the report said. “However, at only a 0.6 per cent decline, the slight decrease may signal a possible reversal of the downward sales trend observed since 2011.”

The U.S. remained the world’s largest weapons seller and sold arms worth $209.7 billion -- a 2.9 percent drop on 2014.

Lockheed Martin remained the largest arms producer, Aude Fleurant, director of SIPRI’s arms and military expenditure program, said in the statement.

French arms sales were behind a recent growth in western Europe with six companies recording sales of $21.4 billion, a 13.1 percent rise. “Major arms export deals in 2015, such as those to Egypt and Qatar, have increased French arms companies’ sales,” Fleurant said.

Russian companies saw a 6.2 percent rise to $30.1 billion.