Arms industry

Global military spending rose to a record last year because of Russia's war on Ukraine. Annual military spending in Europe is at its highest level since the end of the Cold War three decades ago. This was announced in a statement today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), quoted by Reuters.

Russia's cyber war against Ukraine has largely failed, and Moscow is increasingly targeting Kyiv's European allies, US and French analysts say.

French defense firm Thales said in a report that Russia is striking Poland, the Nordic and Baltic countries with an arsenal of cyber weapons aimed at sowing division and promoting anti-war messages.

French defense company Thales said in a report published today that Russia plans attack on Poland, the Nordic and Baltic countries with an arsenal of cyber weapons to create divisions and promote anti-war groups.
Earlier this month, Microsoft said Russian actors had launched attacks in at least 17 European countries in the first six weeks of this year.

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall joined Frankfurt's blue-chip DAX index yesterday, highlighting the improving fortunes of the country's weapons industry as the Ukraine war spurs demand.

In a country still haunted by Nazi atrocities during World War II, Germany's weapons manufacturers were far from the country's most celebrated firms.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits a drone factory. Photo: Turkish Presidency

Turkey's global share of the trade also increased in the period 2018-2022, by 0.5 per cent. Turkey's arms exports comprise 1.1 per cent of all global arms exports.

Arms manufacturers sometimes secretly build a key switch into weapons so they can be disabled if they fall into the hands of a hostile state

"Kintex has never exported weapons to Ukraine or Poland and the Czech Republic, which are believed to be transit points to Ukraine." This was said to Nova TV by the removed director of "Kintex" Alexander Mihailov.

"But the weapons we see being used in the fighting in Ukraine are the same ones being exported from Bulgaria," he said.

Global military spending rose again in 2021, setting new records as Russia continued to beef up its military prior to its invasion of Ukraine, researchers said yesterday, predicting the trend would continue in Europe in particular.

The world's biggest weapons manufacturers largely avoided the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 and recorded a growth in profits last year for the sixth year in a row, according to a report published on Dec. 6.

Turkey is preparing to host the International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul in May.

Among the world's major defense industry fairs, the 15th IDEF will be held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey and under the management and responsibility of Turkish Armed Forces Foundation between May 25-28.