By Raju Prabath Lankaloka
The war in Ukraine has ushered in a wave of militarism. The western imperialists have poured billions into sending military equipment to Ukraine. And ‘defence’ spending has rocketed across the NATO nations, most notably in Germany. As a result, in the midst of the devastation, arms manufacturers have hit the jackpot, blinded by dollar signs.
At the outbreak of the conflict, shares in Britain’s BAE Systems rose by 4.8%, to a one-year high. The share prices of US defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon – makers of the Stinger ground-to-air missile and F-35 fighter jet respectively – have also sharply increased.
Even before the war, these manufacturers of death and destruction were raking it in. Whilst the global economy contracted during the pandemic, the arms industry’s profits reached astronomical heights, peaking at $531bn in 2020. With European countries pledging an additional £170bn in military spending for the years to come, even these eye-watering past profits will pale in comparison to the current boon in business.
The US is set to send 6,500 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, each missile costs $78,000, plus an additional $100,000 for the launcher. Britain has donated more than 5,000 Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons, manufactured in Belfast by French defence company Thales. Each of these costs approximately £30,000. In other words, whilst western imperialism fights out its proxy war with Russia to the last drop of Ukrainian blood, profiteering arms producers will make a killing.
Even before the outbreak of war, Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes cited “tensions in Eastern Europe” as a factor from which the company will benefit. Similarly, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet commented that the “renewed great power competition” (read: tensions between the imperialist nations) would bode well for business.
Since the Ukraine war began, the jubilation of these crooks has been thinly concealed. And in true Orwellian fashion, western politicians have formed an orderly queue to assure us that fuelling the war machine will bring peace. we are being told by our ruling class to stop worrying about the war, and to learn to love the bomb.
It is not only the war in Ukraine that is bolstering the demand for weapons, however. Arms shareholder dividends are also being boosted by increased military spending by various regimes and governments across the world. Boris Johnson recently visited India, for example, in order to strengthen defence ties with the Modi regime. Exaggerating the ‘failures’ of Russian advances, including the supposed ‘chink in Russia’s armour’, the British Prime Minister touted the military equipment of UK arms producers such as BAE Systems and Rolls Royce.
Capitalism and war
We should expect nothing less from these scoundrels. No amount of moral pressure on the ruling class will make them curb the profiteering, or stop them fanning the flames of war.
After all, their entire raison d’être is to protect the profits and interests of big business; to defend and represent the very system that is responsible for war and all its horrors.
The conflict in Ukraine, at root, is a proxy war between different imperialist powers; a consequence of capitalist nations vying for power, prestige, and profit.
As Lenin explained: Yes, war is terrible – terribly profitable. To end the destruction of war, horrors of war and the shameless profiteering that accompanies it, we must organise and fight to overthrow the system that spawns this: capitalism.
