As Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un negotiated what analysts say was an arms exchange last Sunday, representatives of leading Western companies gathered in London to attend the world's biggest arms trade show.
Since the last holding of the International Fair of Defense and Security Equipment in September 2021, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the growth of tensions in Taiwan and North Korea have drastically affected the increase in the production of weapons around the world, Reuters points out.
According to data from the International Institute for Peace Research in Stockholm, European defense spending in 2022 alone increased by 13 percent, bringing total global spending to a record 2 billion dollars.
In the report of the consulting company "McKinsey", it is stated that during the first year after the invasion of Ukraine, a 21 percent drop in arms exports was recorded in Russia, which opened opportunities for the sale of Western weapons in developing countries.
In general, military spending at the global level is expected to grow by an average of four percent until 2028, which is mostly stimulated by Japan's decision to increase the annual military budget by a record 14 percent.
"We are very busy," said Michael Elmore, head of sales at the MTL Advanced company, which specializes in the processing and production of armored steel at a factory near Sheffield, for the British agency.
Within days of the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the company was supplying the Ukrainian military with body armor.
Since then, the demand has only grown, especially for parts of armored vehicles used by European countries.
Analysts point out that the need for armored components is one of the obvious lessons from the fighting in Ukraine. Other lessons include the importance of rapid mobility, minimizing electronic emissions to avoid detection, and the increasing importance of large-scale unmanned systems.
Estonian firm MILREM, a market leader in light unmanned ground vehicles, says some of its devices have already been tested in action in Ukraine for tasks such as route clearance, surveillance and casualty evacuation.
"Ukraine is a very interesting combination of World War I and World War II technology and very modern technology," MILREM executive director Kuldar Varsi told Reuters.
"Before the war in Ukraine, these were more theoretical concepts".
The company said it faced difficulties in securing finance in Europe, which is why it turned to Middle Eastern investors in the United Arab Emirates to fund the next round of development and expansion - a move approved by EU regulators with a strict stipulation that data on the company's work in Europe will not be available to their non-European partners.
Ukraine is a very interesting combination of World War I and World War II technology and very modern technology
The war in Ukraine continues to consume vast amounts of Western arms and ammunition stockpiles. According to experts at the fair, the waiting time for ordering American Javelin anti-tank missiles is now three years.
However, as one defense industry executive said: “War is good for business”.
The British company BAE Systems presented at the fair a new artillery shell specially designed to be cheaper and faster to produce. The UK has doubled its arms exports in 2022 to a record £8,5 billion, with large arms deals from Qatar and Saudi Arabia accounting for the largest share, with significant amounts also going to the United States and Turkey. British officials also hope the AUKUS agreement with the US to provide Australia with nuclear submarine technology will open the door for further deals, according to Reuters.
South Korea's technology and defense industry has entered the European market as an alternative to China, with the biggest deal being a 2022 deal with Poland worth $13,7 billion to supply equipment including tanks, artillery and aircraft. Defense industry sources told Reuters that South Korean firms are also sending large quantities of weapons to Taiwan.
Ukraine also makes its own agreements with foreign suppliers. Ukraine and Sweden this month announced an agreement to jointly produce 1000 CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles for the Ukrainian military. Several firms, including Britain's BAE, Germany's Rheinmetall and Finland's Patria, have reportedly been in talks with Ukraine to build factories there.
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