According to a recently published factsheet by the Swedish peace research institute SIPRI, the global arms business is firmly in the hands of US companies. According to the report, around 59 percent of all global investments in weapons and military services are made by companies from the United States, with 43 of the 100 largest companies in the industry based between Washington and Los Angeles. The Russian and British arms industries (with a global market share of 8.6 and 8.4 percent respectively) are far behind. Companies from France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Israel and the rest of Europe only play a subordinate role in the turnover ranking. However, with BAE Systems, Airbus, Leonardo and Thales, at least four European groups have made it into the top 10 companies with the highest turnover in the industry. Leading the way are five US companies, Lockheed Martin (see chart below), Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics.
