Wars keep the tills ringing Global arms sales higher than ever before
Numerous countries are currently undergoing a massive arms build-up. This is also reflected in the sales figures of the world's largest arms manufacturers. German arms manufacturers in particular are making significantly more money.
01.12.2025, 05:57
01.12.2025, 06:13
dpa
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- The Stockholm-based Sipri Institute has analyzed arms spending.
- In Europe, German suppliers have increased their sales the most.
- The large Russian companies are also in the spotlight.
- Two Russian companies together achieved an increase of 23 percent to 31.2 billion dollars - despite the fact that international sanctions have made some defense components scarce.
The threat from Russia, the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip: In the face of numerous conflicts, the international arms industry has set a new sales record. The world's 100 largest arms manufacturers increased their revenue from the sale of military equipment and services by 5.9 percent in 2024, adjusted for currency effects, according to a new report by the Stockholm-based peace research institute Sipri. Together, they achieved a turnover of around 679 billion US dollars - the highest figure ever recorded.
The demand for military equipment was driven by the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, geopolitical tensions on a global and regional level and ever-increasing military spending, according to the peace researchers. Many producers have expanded their production lines, increased the size of their plants, founded subsidiaries or taken over other companies.
Top dog USA - and a first for an Elon Musk company
The USA remains the absolute industry leader: 39 of the world's 100 largest defense companies are headquartered there, including the undisputed leader Lockheed Martin as well as RTX and Northrop Grumman in second and third place in the Sipri ranking. After an increase of 3.8 percent, the 39 US companies together have defense sales of 334 billion dollars, almost half of the global total.
The US aerospace company SpaceX (77th place) owned by multi-billionaire Elon Musk also appeared in the top 100 for the first time: According to Sipri, the company's arms revenues have more than doubled to 1.8 billion dollars within a year.
However, weapons production in the USA is not running smoothly, as Sipri notes. The independent institute has observed delays and budget overruns in the development and production of key US armaments such as the ultra-modern F-35 fighter jet, Columbia-class submarines and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. This creates uncertainty as to when important new US weapons systems and upgrades to existing systems can be delivered and deployed.
Major sales growth for German companies - Rheinmetall in the top 20
The 26 listed defense companies in Europe (excluding Russia) made significant gains: Their combined sales grew by 13 percent to 151 billion dollars. "This increase was linked to demand due to the war in Ukraine and the perceived threat from Russia," explains the Peace Research Institute.
The four listed companies from Germany achieved a combined jump in turnover of a whopping 36% to 14.9 billion dollars. According to Sipri, one of the main reasons for this was the demand for ground-based air defense systems, ammunition and armored vehicles associated with the Russian threat.
Germany's largest armaments group Rheinmetall recorded particularly strong growth of 47 percent to around 8.2 billion dollars. The group thus climbed six places in the list and is now ranked 20th. ThyssenKrupp (rank 61), Hensoldt (62) and Diehl (67) also all achieved double-digit jumps in turnover, which also pushed them up several places. Airbus (13th place), MBDA (30th) and KNDS (42nd) are classified by Sipri as trans-European companies.
How the wars affect armaments revenues
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is also having an impact on the figures of defense companies in both countries: The Ukrainian company JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry increased its arms sales by 41 percent to 3 billion dollars, according to the report. The two Russian companies Rostec and United Shipbuilding Corporation achieved a combined increase of 23 percent to 31.2 billion dollars - despite international sanctions making some defense components scarce. According to Sipri, the Russian military's own requirements more than made up for the losses caused by falling arms exports.
And the Gaza war? On the one hand, Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip contributed to increased sales for the three Israeli companies in the list, which together recorded an increase of 16 percent to 16.2 billion dollars. On the other hand, global interest in advanced Israeli military equipment hardly waned - despite growing international criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza. In fact, several countries placed new orders with Israeli companies in 2024, noted Sipri expert Subaida Karim.
China with problems - and a challenge for Europe
Meanwhile, Sipri warns of growing challenges in the procurement of materials needed for arms production in Europe. Sipri researcher Jade Guiberteau Ricard estimates that the dependence on critical minerals in particular is likely to complicate European rearmament plans. Europe is heavily dependent on supplies of such minerals from China, which has a virtual monopoly on rare earths, for example.
According to the peace researchers, the Chinese arms industry itself is struggling with completely different problems. "A series of allegations of corruption in Chinese arms procurement have led to major arms orders being postponed or canceled in 2024," reported Sipri expert Nan Tian.
One consequence of this is that Chinese arms sales slumped by 10 percent. As a result, they fell by 1.2 percent to 130 billion dollars in the Asia and Oceania region as a whole - despite considerable growth in Japan and South Korea. This region of the world was therefore the only one with declining figures.
Greenpeace: Europe is becoming an armaments hotspot
With regard to the Sipri figures, Greenpeace comments that arms production is increasingly shifting towards Europe. While the revenues of US companies have only increased moderately and have even fallen in China, they have literally exploded on the German continent, Greenpeace disarmament expert Alexander Lurz told the German Press Agency. "Europe is increasingly becoming a hotspot for global armaments."
The global all-time high in arms sales shows that the international community is progressing faster and faster down the wrong path. "Security and peace will certainly not come about in this way," Lurz criticized.
Sipri reports on the arms industry for decades
The Sipri database on global arms sales was launched in 1989. Since 2015, the independent institute's data has also included information from Chinese companies. Sipri includes all sales of heavy weapons and military services to military customers at home and abroad.
