Dealers of death Keir Starmer and Joe Biden at Nato summit (Photo: flickr/ Number 10)
The world’s largest arms companies are set to rake in record levels of cash over the next three years. It shows what war is really good for—huge wealth for bosses and shareholders while death and destruction for working people.
The Financial Times newspaper revealed on Monday that the leading 15 arms manufacturers are expecting a free cash flow, a rough term for profit, of £40 billion in 2026. This includes Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics.
That’s double what their cash flow was in 2021. And the top five United States arms manufacturers alone make up half of that free cash flow.
In Europe, governments have handed out new contracts for ammunition and missiles. Companies such as BAE Systems, Saab and Rheinmetall are now set to see their profits jump more than 40 percent.
Arms bosses are benefiting from heightened rivalries between states that have led to governments increasing military spending.
The proxy war in Ukraine between the US-led Nato alliance and Russia, increased competition between China and the West and arms sales to Israel have all played a role. In the US, recently passed legislation provides military support for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel that amounts to £10 billion in weapons production.
In Britain, the government has spent £7.6 billion on sending weapons to Ukraine. It’s a classic tale of capitalism— politicians launch wars and the rich profit from them, while working people are the ones killing one another.
This is rooted in the system of profit. Economic competition between states often spills over into military competition and, ultimately, war. It reveals how the state plays an essential role in supporting those companies profiting off war.
Bosses of weapon manufacturers should be called out for what they are—dealers of death operating in the marketplace for murder.
All mainstream parties are complicit in enabling this. It’s seen in Keir Starmer’s government, which doesn’t want to tackle the profiteering of war but boost it with increased military spending.
The recurring theme of the United States’ Democratic convention was joy. Speakers frequently tried to tap into optimism and hope of what a Kamala Harris presidency would bring.
But it’s not working people that will be feeling the joy—it’s the capitalist class who will have lapped up Harris’ politics of the status quo.
Harris has done what she can to underline that the Democrats are a safe bet for the ruling class after Joe Biden was recently pushed out of from the presidential campaign.
When Harris entered the stage for her closing speech, chants of “USA, USA” rang out among the crowd. The stage was covered with US flags as she promised a government of family values and law and order. Harris is never seen without an array of stars and stripes.
In contrast, Barack Obama was criticised in 2008 for not wearing a US tie-pin. Her pitch was ruthlessly centrist, with no mentions of “Medicare for all”, open borders, questions about the police and across the board tax increases.
There were no policy announcements on living wages, health care or student debt relief. Instead, there were commitments of tax cuts for the better-off and a promise that Harris will “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world”.
The Democrats ignored the Palestinian protesters outside and welcomed former Republicans on stage. The crowd cheered a cop in uniform talking about increasing police funding.
There weren’t even murmurs of discontent from the Democratic left, who have completely fallen in line. At one point, a speaker attacked Donald Trump for being a “communist”.
This is the debacle of the Democratic convention. It’s a spectacle where the Democrats try and motivate their voter base through empty words, posturing and piecemeal promises.
Working class people deserve better than the shallowness of the Democrats. They deserve a political party that doesn’t compromise at every opportunity with bosses and the rich, but stands up for their interests.
Bosses can smell that there’s a killing to be made in profits. Y Combinator is a firm that supports US-based startups.
It launched Airbnb and Reddit—and is now backing a weapons company for the first time. It has invested in Ares Industries, a company that creates “low-cost” cruise missiles for the bargain £250,000 per missile.
Ares’ co-founder Alex Tseng thinks that “missiles are cool” and promises that his missiles “will be 10x smaller and 10x cheaper”.
It’s focusing on producing cheaper weapons and drones that can be made quickly at scale.
Investment has been flooding into weapons startups. Anduri Industries, a start-up that makes automated weapon systems, raised £1 billion this month.
There’s nothing “cool” about profiting out of war.
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