Record number of Middle East arms makers in global top 100, Sipri finds

Middle East arms producers feature in record numbers in a list of the top 100 manufacturers globally, with demand driven by conflicts, particularly the Israel-Gaza war that raged for more than two years.

For the first time, nine of the top 100 arms companies were based in the Middle East in 2024, with combined revenues of $31 billion, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The eight of these Middle East producers for which consistent data was available saw arms revenue grow 14 per cent between 2023 and 2024.

“In 2024, demand linked to conflicts, especially the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, continued to be a major driver of arms revenue growth for Middle Eastern companies,” the report found.

These were based in Israel, the UAE and Turkey. The companies are: Israel's Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael; UAE's Edge; and Turkey's Turkish Aerospace Industries, Baykar, Roketsan and MKE.

Edge, the UAE's largest defence conglomerate, ranked 37th out of 100 companies globally, and recorded arms revenues of $4.7 billion in 2024, Sipri said. The company had been excluded from the top 100 since 2020 due to a “lack of publicly available data”.

The UAE is developing its domestic defence manufacturing capabilities for local procurement by its armed forces and to address regional threats. Edge is also increasingly expanding into export markets, a strategic shift, as the Emirates has traditionally been an arms importer.

Global conflicts have spurred a faster pace of product development, entry into market and delivery amid the defence contractor’s push to boost sales to foreign buyers, Hamad Al Marar, managing director and chief executive of Edge, told The National this month.

An Israeli commander addresses representatives of French and Indian forces at a site in the border town of Sderot, overlooking the devastated Gaza Strip. All photos: Reuters A Finnish military member and an Estonian special forces official look out at the destruction caused by Israel's two-year war on the enclave A German officer attends the 'seminar' near the Gaza border. Berlin is set to end a partial suspension of weapons deliveries to Israel The event, which involved personnel from countries including France, the UK and the US, aims to 'reinforce understanding' of Israel's military operations in Gaza Members of the US Marines, the first armoured division of the US Army and the German armed forces on the hilltop in Sderot Greek special forces members look out at Gaza, where Israel's war has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians American military officials in Sderot. Israel faced international condemnation over its actions in Gaza, before a ceasefire came into effect in October Israe