By IANS,
Stockholm, Feb 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) US military hardware major Lockheed Martin was the biggest arms vendor in 2010 with sales totalling $35.7 billion, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says.
Only three companies in the top ten of the SIPRI Yearbook 2012, based on the 2010 data, are not from the US – Britain’s BAE Systems (second with sales of $32.9 billion), Europe’s EADS (seventh with sales of $16.4 billion) and Italy’s Finmeccanica (eighth with sales of $14.4 billion).
“The total arms sales (including sales of military services) of the SIPRI Top 100 maintained their upward trend in 2010, although at 1 percent in real terms, the increase was much slower than in 2009,” a SIPRI press release said.
“The data for 2010 demonstrates, once again, the major players’ ability to continue selling arms and military services despite the financial crises currently affecting other industries,” SIPRI arms industry expert Susan Jackson said.