As the war in Iran hits large parts of the global economy, the arms sector is raking in thousands of orders. In the first sixteen days of operations against Iran, the coalition led by the United States consumed $26 billion worth of ammunition, according to a study by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi). More than 11,200 projectiles were fired, including 1,200 Patriot missiles, several hundred Tomahawks, and 300 Thaad interceptors. Each emptied arsenal is a potential order for the arms industry.
The first to benefit are the three major American companies. RTX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are expected to capture the bulk of the $16.5 billion in military sales to Gulf states approved by the State Department since the start of the conflict. Boeing will triple its production of sensors for Patriot Pac-3 missiles under a seven-year contract with the Pentagon. In Washington, Donald Trump said he wants to increase the U.S. defense budget to $1.5 trillion, while Pete Hegseth confirmed that an additional request of about $200 billion had been submitted to the White House.
The Financial Times also revealed that the defense secretary’s broker, Pete Hegseth, tried to invest millions of dollars in a BlackRock index fund dedicated to the defense industry just before the attack on Iran. The investment ultimately did not go through…
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