US Dwarfs Rest of the World in Arms Production

Others vie for growth, but US still the unquestioned leader

Jason Ditz 

Posted onDecember 9, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsLockheed, Pentagon, Trump

SIPRI has released its latest report on the global arms trade, and as has been the case in recent studies, the conclusion is that the United States dominates the production and sale of arms. The US is not only in a leadership position, but dominates the entire rest of the planet combined.

The dominant position of US arms makers reflects both the US government’s long-standing priority of pushing overseas allies to buy American weapons, and the US military itself being by far the largest on the planet, and throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at the industry annually.

So it’s unsurprising that Lockheed Martin would not only be the biggest seller of arms to the US military, but also the biggest seller overall. Lockheed has the political influence to both ensure a key position domestically and protect its interests in exports abroad.

Other countries are eager to increase their own positions in the always growing global arms market, with Russia and Turkey both looking to grow substantially. Even with enormous growth, however, few non-US companies can even touch the top 10, and even then, are far behind the US leaders.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/12/09/us-dwarfs-rest-of-the-world-in-arms-production/