Global arms sales on rise as watchdog warns of challenges ahead

GLOBAL arms sales rose by nearly 2 per cent in 2021, the seventh consecutive year of increases, an international arms sales watchdog noted yesterday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) added that the war in Ukraine has increased demand for weapons this year, but the conflict may also lead to a supply challenge, not least because Russia is a major supplier of raw materials used in arms production.

That could hamper efforts in the United States and Europe to strengthen their armed forces and replenish their stockpiles, after sending billions of dollars’ worth of ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine, Sipri said.

“Increasing output takes time,” said senior researcher Diego Lopes da Silva, adding that if the supply chain disruptions continue “it may take several years for some of the main arms producers to meet the new demand created by the Ukraine war”.

Sipri noted that some reports indicate Russian companies are increasing production because of the war but have had difficulty accessing semiconductors and are also being affected by war-related sanctions.

Arms sales in 2021 were up 1.9% to $592 billion (£481.3bn), which was higher than the previous period but still below the average for the four years leading up to the Covid19 pandemic.

In its report, published yesterday, Sipri said “many parts of the arms industry were still affected by pandemic-related disruptions in global supply chains in 2021, which included delays in global shipping and shortages of vital components”.

Dr Lucie Beraud-sudreau, head of the Sipri military expenditure and arms production programme, said: “We might have expected even greater growth in arms sales in 2021 without persistent supply chain issues.”

The institute compiled a list of the world’s 100 largest arms-producing and military services companies.

Although US companies dominate arms sales – 40 US firms appeared on that list with sales totalling $299bn (£243.1bn) in 2021 – the North America region was the only one to see a 0.9% drop in arms sales compared with 2020. For

2021, 27 of the top 100 arms suppliers were in Europe.