Industry experts say Western arms manufacturers are competing for billions of dollars in sales in the event of a ‘gold rush’ created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, followed by europe’s likely increased militariness.
The United States and other Western countries are providing large sums of money to help Ukraine defend itself in the short term, facilitating access to weapons such as the Stinger, Javelin and Stormer missile systems, The Independent reported.
The share price of companies like Raytheon Technologies has risen 15 percent in the last six months.
The company and other giant arms manufacturers are attending secret meetings with the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) to assess how to take advantage of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s desire to arm against the Russian invasion.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence recently hosted a visit by Ukrainian officials. He led them to the military test site on Salisbury Plain to see the Stormer missile in action.
The British government also held meetings with defense industry officials and hosted representatives from Ukraine to showcase the prowess of armored missile launchers known as Stormers produced by BAE Systems Platforms&services.
Experts stress that these initial sales represent only modest opportunities for arms firms, opening the door to a real abundance of the possibility of Europe becoming increasingly militaritized in the coming years.
This is an expectation already announced by senior officials from arms manufacturers in shareholders and the media.
Countries such as Germany, which has pursued fundamentally pacifist policies since the end of The Second World War, are trying to restructure their armies following Russia’s actions.
Germany has ordered 35 of the world’s most modern fighter F-35s from U.S.-based Lockheed Martin.
The move comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to increase Berlin’s military spending by a one-off $113 billion and devote 2 percent of its annual budget to arms spending.
“When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is attacking Ukraine, he doesn’t just want to wipe one country off the world map, he destroys the European security structure,” Scholz said.
William Hartung, an expert on the international arms trade, said these opportunities amounted to a ‘gold rush’ for the industry;
“In many ways, they are trying to make a profit. (U.S. President Joe) The Biden administration has provided about $3.2 billion in arms aid to Ukraine. Most of these come from existing stockpiles, but they will be completely renewed through contracts with the Pentagon. As Europe begins to spend more, U.S. companies will benefit.”
Hartung, a researcher at the Quincy Institute for Responsible State Administration, said gun manufacturers were already expecting a profitable year before the invasion.
But Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, as well as his fear that some NATO members and other European countries could be his next target, has given the industry a major boost.
As a result, companies succeeded individually, while the whole sector benefited. In the U.S., S&P’s Aerospace and Defense fund saw an increase of at least 11 percent.
Last week, the Pentagon held a secret meeting with senior officials of eight major arms manufacturers (Boeing Defence, Space&Security, L3Harris Technologies, Raytheon Technologies, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman).
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters it was ‘part of a normal, planned, routine meeting’. However, the meeting included celebrities of companies and the meetings were kept secret.
Sharku’l Avsat reported from The Independent that the Pentagon was asked what was discussed during the meeting.
The Pentagon said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks chaired the meeting.
Hicks said at the meeting, according to the Pentagon.
“The Biden administration is working around the clock to meet priority security assistance requests in Ukraine, withdraw weapons from U.S. stockpiles where available, buy directly from the arms industry for rapid delivery to Ukraine, and facilitate arms transfers from allies and partners with the best systems.”
In March, the Biden administration proposed a 2023 Pentagon budget of $813 billion, a 4 percent increase from the 2022 spending package the president signed that month. Congress is likely to increase that budget, as it did in 2022.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seriously complicated the work of those seeking diplomatic solutions to such conflicts.
The UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) condemned the Russian invasion in March and stressed that Moscow appears to have committed war crimes.
CAAT said in a statement:
“In response, we reject Europe’s calls for more militariness. Militarism created this crisis, and more militarism is not the answer. European NATO members spend almost five times more on their armies than Russia, and Russian military power has lagged far behind what many think.”
“The West is still much stronger militarily than Russia. We need to look at ways to mitigate this situation. This is not an easy issue when Putin is in power.”
