Wars, regional tensions boost sales for major arms companies: Report

Sales by major arms makers were boosted in 2023 by wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tensions in Asia, with marked increases for manufacturers based in Russia and the Middle East, a report said on Dec 2.

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Sales of arms and military services by the world's 100 largest arms companies totalled US$632 billion (S$850 billion) in 2023, up 4.2 per cent, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Revenues dipped in 2022 as global weapons makers struggled to meet the increase in demand, but many of them managed to increase production in 2023, the report noted.

In a sign of this surge in demand, all 100 companies tracked achieved sales in excess of US$1 billion in 2023 for the first time.

"There was a marked rise in arms revenues in 2023, and this is likely to continue in 2024," Mr Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher with the Sipri Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said in a statement.

Sales from the world's top 100 arms companies "still did not fully reflect the scale of demand, and many companies have launched recruitment drives, suggesting they are optimistic about future sales", Mr Scarazzato added.