Israeli defense manufacturers grabbed a 2.1% share of the global arms market in 2016 as demand for weapons increased for the first time after five consecutive years of decline, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual report published Monday.
Israeli manufacturers sold some $7.8 billion worth of arms in a global market out of sales of $374.8 billion by the world’s top 100 weapons companies. Three Israeli defense companies, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries. (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, ranked among the world’s 50 largest manufacturers of weapon systems.
Elbit Systems was the top ranked Israeli company at 27th on the list with sales of $3.1 billion, followed by IAI at 31st with sales of $2.61 billion, a slight dip on figures for 2015, while Rafael at 43rd registered sales of $2.1 billion.
The United States continues to dominate global arms sales with 38 companies in the Top 100 raking in $217.2 billion in sales, an increase of 4% on 2015 and accounting for close to 60% of total sales by Top 100 companies. The United Kingdom was the second ranked country, accounting for 9.6% percent of sales by Top 100 companies, while Russia continued to see its influence on the global arms market increasing with sales increasing 3.8% to $26.6 billion, or 7.1% of sales in the Top 100. South Korean companies saw their share surge 20.6% to $8.4 billion due to tensions on the korean Peninsula.
“The growth in arms sales was expected and was driven by the implementation of new national major weapon programs, ongoing military operations in several countries and persistent regional tensions that are leading to an increased demand for weapons,” the report said.