The last thing the world needs is more weapons, and yet, weapons making is the fastest-growing industry apart from child sex abuse materials. One is legal, but neither is moral, particularly when they are promoted on the pretense of laughable geopolitical tensions.
NATO’s Asian partners lead global weapons-revenue surge – report
NATO partners Japan and South Korea have emerged as two of the global arms industry’s fastest-growing markets, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has reported.
Global arms revenues hit a record in 2024 amid rising geopolitical tensions and a rearmament drive across Europe, according to the study published on Monday.
Combined revenues from arms and military services at the world’s top 100 producers jumped 5.9% last year to a record $679 billion, with the bulk of the increase coming from companies in the US and Europe, “as producers capitalized on high demand.”
Germany’s Rheinmetall posted the strongest growth in western Europe, on more general “demand boosted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, global and regional geopolitical tensions, and ever-higher military expenditure,” SIPRI wrote.
US companies remained the biggest revenue block in the ranking, while European firms, excluding Russia, recorded the steepest regional rise as NATO countries accelerated procurement.
Japan and South Korea, NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners, were among the strongest climbers in the Top 100, the report said, as their arms producers rode surging export orders from Europe alongside growing demand at home.
Sales by Japan’s leading defense firms surged 40% year on year to $13.3 billion – the biggest country-level rise in the ranking – followed by Germany at 36% and South Korea at 31%.
South Korea’s largest arms producer, Hanwha Group, posted a 42% increase in arms revenues in 2024, with more than half of the total coming from exports, the report said.
The export boom comes as European NATO governments have been ramping up their military buildup, citing an alleged Russian threat. Moscow has denied any aggressive intentions, with President Vladimir Putin describing the speculation as “complete nonsense.”
Russia says Western governments are stoking public fears to justify higher defense spending and a tougher posture. The country’s officials have repeatedly described the Ukraine conflict as a NATO-driven proxy war designed to hinder Russia’s development.
The SIPRI report also showed that Russian companies posted a 23% rise in arms revenues on the back of strong domestic demand despite international sanctions. Sales at Chinese firms fell by 10% amid procurement disruptions.
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The more arms that are being built means the more aggressive actions need to take place in order to keep those inventories moving, so the producers get filthy rich at the great expense of the rest of the world.
NATO must be ‘more aggressive’ towards Russia – top commander
NATO members should find ways to be more aggressive towards Russia, the US-led bloc’s top military chief has said.
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that member states have been weighing options to respond to what he described as Russia’s “hybrid war.”
Otherwise known as NATO's proxy war against Russia.
“We are studying everything … being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about,” Dragone said.
An aggressive action requires a response from Russia, in other words, it escalates the war and draws us closer to a global catastrophe. Only an idiot could think otherwise.
The commander added that a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action,” though it would be “further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”
See what I mean? It's sheer idiotic madness!
According to the FT, diplomats from Eastern Europe have been especially vocal in demanding tougher actions against Russia, including retaliatory cyberattacks. Dragone noted, however, that NATO’s decision-making has been constrained by legal and ethical concerns, as well as jurisdiction.
Ethical concerns? Since when?
In September, NATO increased air patrols in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states in response to alleged airspace violations by Russia. Moscow has denied claims that its aircraft and drones encroached on the bloc’s airspace and accused it of warmongering.
Politico Europe reported last week that NATO was also considering joint offensive cyber operations against Moscow.
Russia has denied hacking Western institutions, insisting that it has instead been the target of numerous cyberattacks, including some claimed by pro-Ukrainian groups.
Russian Ambassador to Belgium Denis Gonchar said last week that NATO members were pursuing a “rampant militarization” of Europe under the guise of deterring Russia’s “non-existent” plans to attack them.
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