For the last 5 years, global arms sales have been seeing a decline. However, just last year in 2016 those sales are said to be rising for the first time in half a decade. It's estimated that there were more than $374 billion in sales in 2016 alone.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is the organization behind the estimates.

They said that they've been seeing an increasing trend for sales with US arms producers and they've attributed the increase in sales to continued military aggression overseas; along with acquisitions of large weapon systems by other countries.

Who reigns supreme in this arms race?

It might not come as a surprise to many that Lockheed Martin takes the cake.

In the last year, throughout 2016, they've seen roughly a 10.7 percent increase. And some industry analysts have suggested that this could just be the beginning, that Lockheed and other defense stocks might be in for a 20-year+ spending cycle.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute suggests that there are other players as well to note in this industry and they are arms producers that come from Turkey, South Korea, India, and Brazil.

After Lockheed, the biggest producers in this area are Boeing, BAE systems, and Northrop Grumman.

There are also multiple military operations taking place around the world at the moment that involve the US. Such as those conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Somalia, and other areas.

Trillions of dollars have been spent on anti-terror efforts, the US engaging in multiple wars of aggression around the world. And previous AP reports have suggested that some of these anti-terror efforts might be more about lining the pockets of contractors rather than trying to find any coherent solution.

Might that be why it's been several decades and they still don't yet seem close to achieving their goal? The war on terror is an extremely profitable endeavor for military contractors. They're making billions of dollars off of the ongoing conflict, bloodshed, and loss of innocent lives. It's a very small handful that are reaping the profits of these never-ending wars that the rest of us are forced to pay for.

Pics:
Pixabay
CNN
Pixabay

Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/global-arms-sales-rise-for-first-time-since-2010.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/17/politics/us-troops-somalia-airstrike/index.html
https://www.alternet.org/story/149492/prophets_of_war%3A_how_defense_contractor_lockheed_martin_dominates_the_military_establishment
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/05/10-conflicts-to-watch-in-2017/
https://www.globalresearch.ca/blood-money-these-companies-and-people-make-billions-of-dollars-from-war/5438657
https://www.thenation.com/article/making-money-terrorism/

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