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In 2008 the sales of 100 largest arms-producing companies reached 385 billion dollars, increasing by 39 billion dollars from those in 2007. This represents more than three times the sum of all development aid provided by OECD countries in 2008, it reached only 120 billion dollars.

The top ranking was placed BAE Systems UK company, which became the first company outside the United States has ever occupied the top 100 largest arms producers in the world. On the 4 positions of the ranking compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published today, is Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics (all U.S.).

Last year, the sales division of BAE Systems Land and Armaments almost doubled, from 7 to 12 billion dollars, being the main cause sales to U.S. government MRAP vehicles (protected against ambushes and attacks me) for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

U.S. company Navistar took place in the top 20 SIPRI 100, with sales to the U.S. Department of Defense worth $ 3.9 billion. Turnover in 2008 to Navistar is a 960 percent increase in sales in 2007 they only climb to 368 million dollars.

Almaz-ante, manufacturer of air defense systems S-300 and S-400 is the first Russian company to enter the top 20, it accounted for 2008 sales of $ 4.3 billion. Almaz-ante sales tripled from 2003 to now.

Database SIPRI arms industry was established in 1989. Since 1990, SIPRI has published details of the largest 100 such companies in your SIPRI Yearbook.

SIPRI standings. Figures for arms sales are in US$ m.

[a] Companies are ranked according to the value of their arms sales in 2008. An S denotes a subsidiary company. A dash (–) indicates that the company did not rank among the SIPRI Top 100 for 2007.

Company names and structures are listed as they were on 31 Dec. 2008. Information about subsequent changes is provided in these notes. The 2007 ranks may differ from those published in SIPRI Yearbook 2009 owing to continual revision of data, most often because of changes reported by the company itself and sometimes because of improved estimations. Major revisions are explained in these notes.

[b] For subsidiaries and operational companies owned by a holding or investment company, the name of the parent company is given in parentheses along with its country, where it differs.

[c] Although several Chinese arms-producing enterprises are large enough to rank among the SIPRI Top 100, it has not been possible to include them because of lack of comparable and sufficiently accurate data. In addition, there are companies in other countries, such as Kazakhstan and Ukraine, that could also be large enough to appear in the SIPRI Top 100 list if data were available, but this is less certain.

[d] Key to abbreviations: A = artillery; Ac = aircraft; El = electronics; Eng = engines; Mi = missiles; MV = military vehicles; SA/A = small arms/ammunition; Ser = services; Sh = ships; Sp = space; Oth = other; Comp( ) = components, services or anything else less than final systems in the sectors within the parentheses—used only for companies that do not produce final systems.

[e] Dots (. .) indicate that data is not available.

[f] Finmeccanica acquired DRS Technologies in Oct. 2008. The figures presented here treat the acquisition as if it had occurred on 1 Jan. 2008.

[g] The arms sales figures for KBR are an estimate based on LOGCAP III payments and payments by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD).

[h] The arms sales figures for Rolls-Royce are estimates, as the company does not publish information on the civil–military breakdown of its Marine Division’s sales and has not responded to requests for this information.

[i] This is the 7th year in which Russian companies have been covered by the SIPRI Top 100. There may be other Russian companies that should be in the list but for which insufficient data is available. Figures for Russian companies’ total sales and profits are from Expert RA, the Russian rating agency; the figures for arms sales shares estimates and employment are from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), Moscow.

Many Russian arms-producing companies are being consolidated into 4 large state-owned conglomerates: United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), OPK Oboronprom, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) and Rostekhnologii. However, comparable data on these conglomerates is not available. Thus, even though Sukhoi and Irkut are part of UAC and Vertolety Rossii is a subsidiary of OPK Oboronprom, these 3 companies are reported as parent companies in the Top 100. For more detail on Russian arms-producing industry consolidation, see section II of chapter 6; and Perlo-Freeman, S. et al., ‘The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing companies, 2007’, SIPRI Yearbook 2009, pp. 286–87.

[j] Limited financial data is available for AM General. The SIPRI estimate of arms sales is based on a 2-year average of US Department of Defense (DOD)  prime contract awards.

[k] In previous years, Navistar’s arms sales figures were calculated using an average of DOD contracts. The figures for 2008 and 2007 reported here are based on information on arms sales for those years released by the company. This change revised Navistar’s sales downward, and so altered the company’s ranking for 2007.

[l] Arms sales figures for Japanese companies represent new military contracts rather than arms sales.

[m] Hewlett-Packard (HP) acquired EDS in HP’s fourth quarter of 2008. The total sales figure presented here is pro forma as if EDS had been part of HP for the company’s entire financial year. Prior to the acquisition, HP was not considered an arms-producing company according to the SIPRI definition. Because HP does not report EDS’s civil and military sales separately, the arms sales estimate for 2008 is based on EDS’s arms sales from 2007.

[n] The arms sales figures for Krauss-Maffei Wegmann are based on a small estimate of the company’s non-military sales.

[o] The arms sales share of total sales for Hindustan Aeronautics is taken from the Defense News Top 100 for 2008.

[p] The arms sales figure for DynCorp is revenues from the US DOD. This is probably an underestimate, as some security contracts with the US State Department should probably be classified as military business, and are thus ‘arms sales’ according to the SIPRI definition.

[q] All figures for Indian Ordnance Factories are estimates.

[r] Limited financial data is available for Shaw Group. The SIPRI estimate of arms sales is based on a 2-year average of US DOD prime contract awards.

[s] The arms sales share of total sales for ARINC is taken from the Defense News Top 100 for 2008.

[t] The arms sales of Fiat are those of its Iveco trucks and commercial vehicles division, which sells some military vehicles.

[u] The arms sales figures for Jacobs Engineering Group are based on US DOD prime contract awards.

[v] The arms sales figures for MITRE are based on US DOD prime contract awards.

[w] The arms sales figures for Chugach Alaska Corporation are based on US DOD prime contract awards.

[x] The arms sales figures for Day & Zimmerman are based on US DOD prime contract awards.