War In Ukraine How Arms Manufacturers Benefit From Conflict World News

Experts say this, combined with the role of conflict in increasing military spending, will lead to unexpected gains for Western arms manufacturers – but there are risks. Since the invasion, NATO countries have allocated more than $ 8 billion (6 6.4 billion) in military equipment to Ukraine, with $ 4.6 billion (3, 3.7 billion) coming from the United States. The United Kingdom has committed 750 750 million, while the EU has allocated € 2 billion (1, 1.7 million). Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher in the arms transfer program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), says most of the weapons shipped to Ukraine come from existing military supplies. Some countries have shipped older items that were already “on the road” – but many, such as the US and the UK, have shipped newer stocks that need to be replaced, he told Sky News. The United States has already approved a $ 9 billion (£ 7.1 billion) package of expenditures to replenish supplies to Ukraine now and in the future. Image: A Ukrainian soldier holding the Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Javelin missile system on the front line in Kyiv Which companies will make the most money? U.S. defense contractors are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries. Washington ships 6,500 Javelin anti-tank missile systems, manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The cost of each rocket is approximately $ 78,000 (£ 66,000) and the reusable launcher is another $ 100,000 (£ 85,000). Ukraine will receive most of the systems from France and Estonia, with another 200 coming from the United Kingdom. The United States is also donating artillery radar systems made by the same companies, along with US defense giant Northrop Grumman. Image: A Stinger rocket is launched during a training exercise. Photo: AP Another benefit for Raytheon will come from the US decision to send 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers. The company has already been awarded a $ 625 million (49 494 million) contract to replenish inventories. Germany gives Ukraine 500 of the systems and most come from Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands. More good news for Lockheed Martin came from the US plan to provide Ukraine with four M142 high-mobility missile systems (HIMARS). The company also manufactures M270 long-range missile launchers shipped from the United Kingdom. Another key element is the AeroVironment Switchblade aerial system, commonly known as the “kamikaze drone”. The US has promised 700 of them. Ukraine receives 50 billion rounds of ammunition from the United States, possibly to the benefit of Olin, the US military’s largest supplier of small arms ammunition. Image: Switchblade drone systems are manufactured by AeroVironment. Photo: AP Key winners in Europe In Europe, the big winners are expected to be BAE Systems and Thales. The British BAE Systems manufactures almost all of the UK’s small arms ammunition and is set to replace the 400,000 missiles shipped to Ukraine. The company also manufactures the 108 155mm artillery shells shipped by the United States, as well as the MILAN anti-tank guided missiles supplied by France and Italy, which are produced in a joint venture with Airbus and Leonardo. Image: A launch truck launching the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS) manufactured by Lockheed Martin. File photo: AP Another key piece of equipment manufactured by BAE Systems, which has factories throughout the United Kingdom, is the Stormer armored vehicle. The UK provides Ukraine with a “small number” of them. The vehicles are equipped with Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, which are manufactured in Britain by Thales, a French company. Thales is also building the Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW), a shoulder-fired missile system that has been praised for its success in blowing up Russian tanks. The United Kingdom gives Ukraine more than 5,000 of them. Assembled in Belfast, they are believed to cost .000 30,000. The German Dynamit Nobel manufactures the 3,000 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons sent by its homeland, together with 5,100 MATADOR anti-tank weapons. Prior to the war in Ukraine, Germany had a long tradition of banning arms exports to active war zones, which limited sales. The big defense companies are already seeing their stock prices rise as investors await the effects of the war on profits. Thales shares rose 35% since the invasion, while BAE Systems shares rose 32%. Lockheed Martin showed an increase of 14% and AeroVironment 63%. Weapons “could end up in the wrong hands” Kristen Bayes, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Arms Trade, said the supply of weapons to Ukraine was understandable but “not without problems”. “You may think you are handing over weapons to people you know and like, but then they are sold to people you do not know at all,” he told Sky News. Mr Wezeman said the weapons supplied to Ukraine “could end up disappearing on the black market” – an increased risk as the country “does not have full control of its territory”. He says it is difficult to watch the weapons when they have to be delivered at such a speed and there is a risk of “getting lost or disappearing in the chaos”. He says there are few things that can be done about it now, but once the war is over, a good program to collect weapons from civilians must be put in place. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has previously acknowledged that some weapons given to Ukraine have also fallen into Russian hands. Advertising opportunities and increases in military spending Replenishing stocks sent to Ukraine is not the only new business opportunity for Western arms manufacturers. Mr Wezeman says countries that traditionally buy a lot of military equipment from Russia may look elsewhere because of the poor performance of some of the same products in Ukraine. “There are Russian tanks that have been completely blown up,” he says. “This is not really an advertisement for their quality.” He says countries are also facing increasing pressure and threats of sanctions from Western countries urging them to stop buying from Russia. He says there is even more money to be made as states respond to the war in Ukraine by increasing their military spending – much of which will be used for new equipment. Since the invasion, at least 15 European countries have announced plans to increase defense spending, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The additional commitments amount to at least € 200 billion (170 170 billion), according to the EU. Most important was Germany’s commitment to spend an additional 100 billion euros (85 85 billion) in the coming years, with Chancellor Olaf Solz saying the defense would account for 2% of GDP “from now on”. This was good news for Rheinmetall, a German tanker and artillery company that expects sales to grow by up to 25% in 2022 and 2023. Germany has already said it will buy 35 F-35 fighter jets. , which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and have an estimated cost of living of $ 1.6 trillion (27 1.27 trillion £). Norway plans to spend an additional three billion kroner (£ 270 million) on border defense this year, while Latvia is set to increase its defense budget from 2.2% of GDP to 2.5% in 2023. Finland has announced an additional € 700 million (600 600 million) for this year, as well as an additional € 2.2 billion (9 1.9 billion) for 2023 to 2026. Image: Germany announces purchase of 35 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets. Photo: AP Poland increased military spending to 3% of GDP in 2023, from 2.2% this year. French President Emanuel Macron has pledged to expand his country’s defense budget, while increases have been announced in the budgets of Estonia and Lithuania for this year. Italy is considering increasing its military spending by 1.5 billion euros (1, 1.3 billion) in 2022, with the long-term goal of increasing spending to 2% of GDP from 1.4% today. Sweden has promised an increase of about SEK 3 billion (24 244 million) this year, while Denmark has pledged to shift from 1.4% of GDP to 2% by 2033. The UK government had already planned increases before the war – but still faces calls from Labor to spend more. Britain already has the fourth largest defense budget in the world, accounting for 2% of GDP. “Many upgrades in the coming years” Following a NATO summit on March 24, the alliance said its members “decided to accelerate our efforts to fulfill our commitment to the promise of defense investment as a whole.” The defense investment pledge, adopted by NATO in 2014, called on all members to end cuts in defense budgets and adhere to the NATO-agreed guideline of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense within a decade. – but some countries had resisted the shift. Fenella McGerty, a senior fellow in defense economics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the March statement “suggests there will be many upgrades in the coming years.” “Some commitments are more specific or immediate than others, but the fact that these announcements come at the end of a period of considerable growth in European defense spending is indicative of a change in security dynamics,” he told Sky News. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 5:47 In the front line with the 93rd Brigade Trevor Taylor, a defense management specialist at the think tank of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says countries are responding to a “sense of threat”. “You have a case where Russia has shown readiness to use violence to change the territorial status quo,” he told Sky News. He added: “The question these days is whether Russia will try to occupy smaller parts of Europe – whether it is part of Estonia or Latvia, or some kind of invasion of Poland and so on. “These possibilities now seem much more real than before the Ukrainian attack. “I think many countries …