A new SIPRI report shows military manufacturers thriving as war demand surges across Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Global arms sales reached their highest level on record in 2024, with the top 100 weapons manufacturers generating $679 billion in revenue, according to a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The total marks a 5.9 percent increase over the previous year, fueled largely by extended proxy wars and rising defense budgets worldwide.
fs_2512_top_100_2024 by yourNEWS Media
SIPRI researchers attributed the gains primarily to higher revenues among defense firms based in the United States and Europe. “The rise in the total arms revenues of the Top 100 in 2024 was mostly due to overall increases in the arms revenues of companies based in Europe and the United States,” the institute said. The only regional decline occurred in Asia and Oceania, driven by a sharp drop in Chinese arms sales.
Chinese manufacturers saw a 10 percent decrease in reported defense revenues from 2023, reflecting reduced domestic procurement and slower export growth. By contrast, Japan recorded the largest regional gain — a 40 percent increase in arms sales year-over-year — as it accelerated defense production amid a broader regional security buildup.
American companies continued to dominate the rankings. Lockheed Martin led all defense firms with $64.65 billion in 2024 arms revenue, followed by Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems.
The Czechoslovak Group registered the most dramatic increase, with revenues soaring 193 percent over 2023. SIPRI linked the surge to the company’s role in supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. One of its subsidiaries was contracted by the Pentagon in August to construct a new ammunition facility in the United States to replenish depleted stockpiles.
“In 2024 the growing demand for military equipment around the world, primarily linked to rising geopolitical tensions, accelerated the increase in total Top 100 arms revenues seen in 2023,” SIPRI’s report said. More than three-quarters of the companies in the top 100 — seventy-seven in total — saw revenue increases last year, with forty-two reporting double-digit growth.
The findings underscore how the modern defense industry continues to expand amid persistent global instability, driven by conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia that have sustained a worldwide appetite for weapons and defense systems.
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