Weapons manufacturer

Weapons manufacturer

Manufacturing of weapons is a highly profitable business, as is arms dealing. Many people have suggested that the practices are morally dubious, which is no doubt why euphemisms such as the "defence sector" are often employed to refer to this area of business.

Legal status

Mass production of weapons is not as constrained as the use of weapons and military hardware, although special legal restrictions apply to certain weapons of mass destruction - in particular to biological weapons, chemical weapons and nuclear weapons.

Arms dealing

Laws surrounding international supply of arms are usually a gray area, allowing leeway for the deep state to control and profit from such transactions, extracting levies in the form of various fees. There is at least some effective control of weapons deals, as evidenced by the criminal charges filed in, for example, the Arms for Libya deal which moved about 20 tonnes of plastic explosive to Muammar Gaddaffi's Libya in the early 1980s.

 

Examples

Page name	Description
Airbus	Produces 50% of all jet aircraft in the world. Largest airliner manufacturer during the 2020s. Accused of bribery of multiple countries. Received a ban from a group of dozens of banks for "involvement in nuclear weapons production".
Almaz-Antey	Russian state-owned company in the arms industry.
BAE Systems	A global arms company, with interests also in civilian avionics and engineering. Its subsidiaries are also involved in providing intelligence, personnel and logistics support to US/UK military.
Boeing	US based arms manufacturer which also makes civilian aircraft that since the 1990s have became known for their sometimes dubious reliability.
British Aerospace
General Dynamics	US arms manufacturer
Leonardo S.p.A.	8th biggest arms manufacturer in the world by sales
Lockheed	"Nobody is doing a better job of arming the world than Lockheed-Martin"
Marconi Electronic Systems
Northrop Grumman
Raytheon	Military-industrial complex.
Thales Group	Large French weapons manufacturer
Thales UK	A subsidiary of Thales.

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Military-industrial-congressional complex	“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”	Dwight Eisenhower	17 January 1961

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.