Wherever we look, we find few regions of the world spared by open war, frozen conflict or worrying tensions. Arms production has never been so good since the Cold War. In 2023, the turnover of the top 100 defense groups increased by 4.2% in real terms to reach 632 billion dollars (around 600 billion euros), including a part, difficult to count, for modernization nuclear forces, reveals the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), in a report published Monday, December 2. Everything indicates that the trend of +19% since 2015 will continue.
Between them, 41 companies established in the United States accounted for half of the activity (317 billion dollars). Five of them are at the top of the ranking with a total of $194 billion: Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics. Their dependence on numerous suppliers nevertheless makes them “vulnerable” to disruptions in supply chains, says Nan Tian, director of Sipri's military spending and arms production program. This explains the slight decline in activity of the first two (−1.6% and −1.3%), particularly in the missiles and aeronautics segments.
The 27 European groups selected show a turnover of 133 billion dollars, representing a virtual stagnation of +0.2%. With two heavyweights: the United Kingdom (47.7 billion), driven by BAE Systems, the sixth largest producer in the world; and France (25.5 billion) with its five companies (the atomic energy commission, Dassault Aviation, Naval Group, Safran, Thales). The Tricolores' decline of 8.5% compared to 2022 is due to the fact that that year was boosted by the order for 92 Rafale. Followed by Italy (15.2 billion) and Germany (10.5 billion) in full recovery with guns, Leopard 2 tanks and ammunition from Rheinmetall. As for the “trans-European” Airbus, MBDA (missile) and KNDS (cannons, armored vehicles), they produced $21 billion (-1.5%).
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These European countries are not in a “war economy”, like Russia. Even if its statistics are fragmentary and unreliable, the modernization of the old arsenal, new equipment and ammunition, to which is added the soldiers' pay, absorb 40% of the Russian budget. The activity of the two companies listed by Sipri has exploded (+ 40%), mainly due to the public conglomerate Rostec (+ 39%), and reached 25.5 billion dollars.
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