Arms sales advanced in 2020 for the sixth year in a row

The American, Russian, French or Chinese armaments giants did not have to suffer too much from the health crisis in 2020, which however plunged the world economy by 3.1%. In his annual report, published Tuesday, December 7, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Sipri, announces that arms sales, which have been on the rise for six years, have broken a new record.

Thanks in particular to orders from their respective states, the turnover of the top 100 armaments companies increased by 1.3% to reach 531 billion dollars (472 billion euros), and by 17% since 2015, year where the institute integrated data from Chinese companies for the first time.

The Covid-19 nonetheless disrupted the sector’s supply chains and caused a delay in the delivery of certain equipment, penalizing French companies such as Thales. Some states have had to anticipate orders to support their industries at the bottom of the wave.

The hotbeds of tension remain numerous and support the activity of the sector: Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine … The United States, which aligns forty-one companies out of the hundred of the panel, still carves out the share of lion with 285 billion dollars (253 billion euros), or 54% of total sales, against 109 billion for the twenty-six European companies (21%) and 26.4 billion for the nine Russian companies (5%) .

China’s rise to power

Five American giants dominate: Lockheed Martin (which sells F-35 fighter jets, missiles, in particular) consolidates the first place held since 2009 with 58.2 billion in sales; it is followed by Raytheon Technologies (36.8 billion), which became number two after its merger with the military activities of United Technologies in April 2020, then of Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. The Swedish institute also notes a wave of consolidation “Particularly pronounced in space” across the Atlantic.

The British BAE Systems is the first European (6^e) and puts the UK in third place in the world, while Airbus is in 11^e square. Sign of its rise in power, China places Norinco (7^e), AVIC (8^e) and ECCC (9^e) in the top ten of the ranking. The five Chinese companies in the top 100 account for nearly 67 billion in turnover, or 13% of the total (4.7% for France). In addition to a major modernization program for the People’s Liberation Army, according to Sipri, a desire for technological autonomy.

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