US defense firms top earners in 2018 arms sales

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - The top 100 defense companies in the world are dominated by U.S. firms that hold the top five spots of arms sales and military services worth $420 billion in 2018, according to a new study.

The sales show an increase of 4.6% compared to 2017 and according to data released earlier this month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), arms sales rose 47% since 2002, the year from which comparable data is available.

The U.S. military-industrial complex, an informal “scratch my back and I will scratch yours” kind of an alliance between the nation's military and the defense industry, has long been under fire as a vested interest that influences public policy.

The top five firms on the list -- Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics -- accounted for $148 billion and 35% of arms sales in 2018.

The total share of American companies reached $246 billion, or 59%, of arms sales, a 7.2% increase from the previous year.

The U.S. arms industry is consolidating for the new arms modernization program announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017, said Aude Fleurant, director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program, citing a 2018 consolidation between Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.

"Large U.S. companies are merging to be able to produce the new generation of weapon systems and therefore be in a better position to win contracts from the U.S. government," she added.

U.S. domination of SIPRI's Top 100 list contradicts the purported antipathy of Trump and his aides to the military-industry complex, criticized for warmongering and pushing military interventions abroad, which Trump vowed to end numerous times.

The U.S. Congress on Tuesday approved a $1.4 trillion spending package, with the lion's share going to defense spending.

The bill would provide $738 billion in fiscal 2020 funding for the military and $632 billion for non-defense departments, adding to the federal deficit at the expense of American taxpayers.

- Russian arms sales

Ten Russian companies that made the SIPRI ranking sold arms and military services worth $36.2 billion, 0.4% lower from 2017, a decrease explained by strong growth in the combined arms sales of U.S. and European companies.

S-400 manufacturer Almaz-Antey, Russia's largest defense firm and the only Russian company ranked in the top 10 in the ninth position, increased arms sales by 18% in 2018 to $9.6 billion.

S-400 air defense system is Russia's alternative to Raytheon's Patriot missile system and Lockheed Martin's THAAD platform.

China was excluded from the list due to a lack of reliable data.

- UK leads Europe

Despite a decrease, arms sales U.K. companies remained the highest in Europe, followed by France. U.K.'s BAE Systems, ranked sixth, continued to be the world’s largest arms producer outside of the U.S in spite of a 5.2% decrease in 2018 with $21.2 billion of arms sales.

Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI, tied an overall reduction in U.K. arms sales to "delays in the U.K.’s arms modernization program.”

Eighty of the 100 top arms producers in 2018 were American, European and Russian. Of the remaining 20, six were Japanese, three Israeli, Indian and South Korean, respectively, two Turkish and one Australian, Canadian and Singaporean each.

- Turkish industry on fire

The U.S. Congress' eagerness to provide the YPG/PKK terror group with arms at the expense of Turkey and its reluctance to sell strategic defense systems to its NATO ally, especially during the tenure of former U.S. President Barack Obama, has motivated Turkey to invest in its own indigenous military products.

Data showed arms sales by the two Turkish companies, Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), rose 22% in 2018, to $2.8 billion.

Turkey has partnered with Lockheed Martin for more than 25 years, primarily on the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

It also manufactures more than 900 aircraft parts for all F-35 fighter jet variants and customers. One of the most complex structural sections of the aircraft, the F-35A Center Fuselage, is produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries as a second source.

Top Turkish defense firms Aselsan, Havelsan, Kale Aero, Kale Pratt & Whitney, Ayesas and Alp Aviation also manufacture essential components of the F-35 and provide cutting-edge engineering services.