WASHINGTON, US
Sales of United States military equipment to foreign governments in 2023 rose 16% to a record $238 billion, the U.S. State Department said on Monday, as countries sought to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine and prepare for major conflicts.
The figures underpin
expectations of stronger sales for the likes of Lockheed Martin, General
Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, whose shares are forecast to rise amid growing
global instability.
Arms sales and transfers are
viewed as "important U.S. foreign policy tools with potential long-term
implications for regional and global security," the State Department said
in a statement.
Sales approved in the year
included $10 billion worth of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
to Poland, $2.9 billion worth of AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-To-Air
Missiles (AMRAAM) to Germany, and National Advanced Surface to Air Missile
Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine.
Lockheed makes the HIMARS, and
RTX, formerly Raytheon, makes AMRAAM. RTX and Norway's Kongsberg produce
NASAMS.
Lockheed Martin and General
Dynamics expect existing orders for hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds,
hundreds of Patriot missile interceptors, and a surge in orders for armored
vehicles will underpin their results in coming quarters.
There are two major ways
foreign governments purchase arms from U.S. companies: direct commercial sales
negotiated with a company, or foreign military sales in which a government
typically contacts a Defense Department official at the U.S. embassy in its
capital. Both require U.S. government approval.
The direct military sales by
U.S. companies rose to $157.5 billion in fiscal 2023 from $153.6 billion in
fiscal 2022, while sales arranged through the U.S. government rose to $80.9
billion in 2023 from $51.9 billion the prior year.
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