Arms sales see growth despite economic downturn

Arms sales at the 100 biggest arms makers grew 1 per cent in 2010, adjusted for currency fluctuations, to $411 billion, defying the global downturn.

It was the highest sales figure since the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which conducts independent research on international security, armaments and disarmament, started its annual studies in 2002.

“The data for 2010 demonstrates, once again, the major players’ ability to continue selling arms and military services despite the financial crises currently affecting other industries,” SIPRI arms industry expert Susan Jackson said in a statement.

The growth rate was significantly lower than in 2009, when it was 8 per cent, which Jackson said was probably because of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

Of the firms monitored by the group in 2010, 73 were based in the US and western Europe, generating more than 90 per cent of the sales. The top firms were US company Lockheed Martin and British group BAE Systems.