Report: Global arms sales up nearly 5%
STOCKHOLM: Arms sales rose by nearly 5 per cent worldwide last year in a market dominated by the US, according to a report published yesterday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to US$420 billion (S$570 billion), said the report.
US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 per cent of the market, or a turnover of US$246 billion, up 7.2 per cent on the previous year.
"This is a significant increase over one year considering the already high levels of US combined arms sales," Ms Aude Fleurant, the director of Sipri's arms transfers and military expenditure programme, told AFP.
US companies were benefiting from the Trump administration's decision to modernise its armed services to reinforce its position against China and Russia.
Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 per cent of the market, ahead of Britain at 8.4 per cent and France at 5.5 per cent.
The study did not include China, for which there was insufficient data.
The world's largest arms-maker remains the US company Lockheed Martin, as it has been since 2009. Its sales alone account for 11 per cent of the world market. - AFP
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