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Monday, April 04, 2022

US 'merchants of death' see longer term benefits from war in Ukraine

theVibes.com:

US defence contractors see longer term benefits from war in Ukraine

CEOs suggest rising tensions from Europe to Asia could hike up military spending


Like other Western countries, the United States is turning to its own stocks to furnish Ukraine with shoulder-fired Stinger and Javelin (pic) missiles, but those stockpiles will need to be replenished. – AFP pic, April 4, 2022


NEW YORK – US arms manufacturers are not cashing in directly from the thousands of missiles, drones and other weapons being sent to Ukraine, but they do stand to profit big-time over the long run by supplying countries eager to boost their defences against Russia.


Like other Western countries, the United States has turned to its own stocks to furnish Ukraine with shoulder-fired Stinger and Javelin missiles, for instance. These weapons from Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon Technologies were paid for some time ago.

So these companies’ first quarter results, due to be released in coming weeks, should not be especially fatter because of the rush to arm Ukraine as it fights off the Russian invasion.

But those US military weapons stockpiles being tapped for Kyiv will need to be replenished.

The Pentagon plans to use US$3.5 billion (RM14.7 billion) earmarked for this purpose in a spending bill approved in mid-March, a Defence Department spokesman said.

The Javelin anti-tank missile is made by a joint venture between Lockheed and Raytheon. The latter’s Stinger anti-aircraft missile had ceased to be produced until the Pentagon ordered US$340 million of them last summer.

“We are exploring options to more quickly replenish US inventories and backfill depleted stocks of allies and partners,” the spokesman said.

“It will take time to revive the industrial base – at the prime and at sub-tier suppliers – to enable production to resume,” he added.

The profits that the companies make from these missiles, known for being simple to use, will not exactly be staggering, defence industry experts said.

“If 1,000 Stingers and 1,000 Javelins get shipped to Eastern Europe each month for the next year, which is not unlikely given the current pace, in our view, we think it would equate to US$1 billion to US$2 billion in revenue for both program manufacturers, which is material,” said Colin Scarola of CFRA, an investment research firm.

Raytheon’s and Lockheed’s revenue figures last year dwarf that amount, however: US$64 billion and US$67 billion, respectively.

“Raytheon probably made more money off selling a Patriot missile system to Saudi Arabia than they will from making Stinger missiles,” said Jordan Cohen, an arms sales specialist at the Cato Institute.

“They’re only going to put so much effort into producing those weapons that are not that valuable,” Cohen said.

Lockheed, Raytheon and another arms manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

General Dynamics said it has not raised its financial outlook since January, while Boeing just said it is up to governments to decide how to spend money earmarked for defence.

Competition among major powers

Some weapons manufacturing executives hinted when they last released quarterly results in late January that the situation around the world would benefit them.

Greg Hayes, Raytheon’s CEO, said that rising tensions in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe would lead to higher international sales – not right away but later in 2022 and beyond.

His counterpart at Lockheed-Martin, James Taiclet, said he observed “renewed great power competition” that could trigger higher US military spending.

“The war in Ukraine reshuffles the geopolitical order, in a way that hasn’t really been seen in the past 30 years,” said Burkett Huey of Morningstar, a financial services company.

“People are starting to realize that the world is a lot less safe and there’s probably going to need to be increased investment in defence products, which would benefit the contractors,” Huey said.

Eric Heginbotham, a researcher at the MIT Center for International Studies, said that for Western governments – as has been the case for years in Asia – “there will be much less appetite for decreases” in military spending.

In the United States, President Joe Biden has proposed a 4% increase in the Pentagon budget. Inflation in America is running much higher, but Biden at least did not propose spending cuts.

Germany, long wary of high military budgets, announced a major policy shift in late February after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it would immediately free up 100 billion euros to modernize its armed forces.

“Countries are going to be looking to increase interoperability with the United States, which is really sort of the central pillar in Nato,” said Heginbotham.

In mid-March, Germany said it would acquire F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed. It will take several years for them to be delivered, and it is then when manufacturers get paid, for the most part.

This “sort of F-35-ification of European armies” is good business for US military contractors, and the US military also likes it because it means common operating platforms, said Eric Gomez, a defence policy expert at the Cato Institute.

“But on the other side, it makes it harder for the United States to kind of ever consider stepping back from Europe, as the Biden administration keeps saying that China is the big game in town,” said Gomez. – AFP, April 4, 2022

4 comments:

  1. The true Merchant of Death is Russia, which has invaded Ukraine and is daily carrying out bombardments of civilian buildings and residences.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember "Oh Susanna" , my old school Scouting song from so many years ago...

    "I come from Alabama with a Banjo on my Knee.."

    Raytheon manufactures Javelins at one of its factories in Alabama...

    I love this photo .....From Alabama with love...wakakaka...
    Incinerated Russian tank with the infamous Flying Turret...battle of Mariopol....

    https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2022/04/russian-tank-ukraine-0401221.jpg

    Slava Ukraini !
    Glory to Ukraine !

    ReplyDelete
  3. My friends who mainly follow CGTN and RT buy the story that Russia successfully completed Phase 1 of its plan in Ukraine, and now moving to Phase 2.

    The truth shown here....Russia was seriously defeated in Phase 1 by determined Ukrainian resistance, with love from Javelins and NLAWS....

    BTW ...this correspondent from TRT, Turkish TV, not CNN.

    https://youtu.be/JsxELQHTnEQ

    ReplyDelete
  4. The US has imported a relatively small share of crude oil from Russia, but US imports of petroleum products from Russia — namely, unfinished oils and fuel oil — is a larger share. US refineries use imported unfinished oils and fuel oil as a supplement to crude oil in the refining process.

    On March 8, President Biden announced a ban on US imports of petroleum, coal, and natural gas from Russia in response to Russia’s further invasion into Ukraine. The ban includes crude oil and petroleum products.

    In 2021, imports from Russia accounted for 8% of all U.S. petroleum imports, which includes the 3% share of crude oil imports and the 20% share of petroleum product imports. More than half of US total petroleum imports from Russia in 2021 were unfinished oils.

    The irony of the US-led sanction - US increased crude oil supplies from Russia by 43 percent, or 100,000 barrels per day, over the past weeks of March 2022!

    The purchases of the Russian petroleum products by US r still increasing at a rapid rate. This is bcoz the depletion of these Russian petroleum products in US would have very detrimental effects on major US industries throughout the nation!

    Latest records indicating that the major US petroleum products buyers r rapidly sourcing rouble to pay for the Russian procurements as Putin has dictates that all these purchases must be paid in rouble!

    Eat yr heart out, blurred mfering dickheads. U have been played out kaw-kaw by yr US lord - do what I say, font do what I do!

    ReplyDelete