Lockheed Martin tops the SIPRI-2009 arms manufacturers rating

21.02.2011 American companies dominate in the top ten largest arms manufacturers in 2009, reports Monday Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) having published the rating of the world's 100 largest military industrial companies as of 2009.

American group of companies Lockheed Martin leads the list with annual income of $33.43 bln in 2009.

SIPRI experts put British group BAE Systems at the second position with the sales of $33.25 bln. In the previous rating this company managed to hit the American competitor for the first time and head the SIPRI rating in 2008.

Only three non-American companies entered the first top ten – mentioned above BAE Systems, transeuropean EADS (7th position) and Italian Finmeccanica (8th position).

Judging by the rating published today in Stockholm, 78 out of 100 leading armament producers are located in the U.S. and Western Europe. Their overall income makes $368 bln which is 91.7% of all one hundred companies mentioned in the SIPRI rating as of 2009.

Forty five companies are situated in the U.S.

Generally, sales volume of the largest defense-oriented companies have grown on 8% comparing to 2008 ($14.8 bln more) and made $401 bln as of 2009.

Commenting the published ratings, SIPRI expert Susan Jackson told to RIA Novosti that the list basically exhibits trends of the recent several years.

According to her, modernization programs of national armed forces result in higher sales in corresponding spheres of engineering. Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq imply continuing replacement of lost and damaged equipment, said the expert. She supposes that growing range of after-sale services offered by the companies also contributes to arms sales increase.

Among 100 world's largest arms manufacturers, SIPRI experts named six Russian companies.

Russian company Almaz-Antei happened in the top twenty in the previous rating, now has shifted from 18th position to the 23rd one – just to the same level as in 2007.

Also, the SIPRI rating 2009 includes such Russian corporations as Tactical Missiles (66th position), Helicopters of Russia (73rd position), Uralvagonzavod (76th position). The Stockholm experts added two other Russian companies – United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation which were established as a result of recent reorganizations in Russian defense industry.

According to Mrs. Jackson, information on business activities of the latter two companies in 2009 is known, but SIPRI do not draw any conclusions about these corporations due to lack of the previous financial records. Besides, statistics of Russian companies in 2009 are generally hard to analyze in US currency because of US dollar's weak positions.

SIPRI created military industry database in 1989 which contains financial and employment information of companies dealing with arms production in OECD members and developing states except for China. Since 1990 statistics on arms manufacturers is included into SIPRI Yearbook; the coming issue will be published in Stockholm in June 2011.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) was established in 1966 in honor of 150th anniversary of peace in Swedish land.