The European arms industry is growing rapidly

Airbus Defense & Space boasted an even greater increase in revenue. It reached €5.8 billion, more than 17 percent higher than a year earlier. Perhaps surprisingly, newly acquired orders were lower in value than a year ago (€5.1 billion compared to €6.1 billion), but it's important to remember that with such large sums, a single transaction can sometimes change the landscape. This is rather exceptional in the industry. It's worth emphasizing that these results do not include the European giant's civilian aircraft; they only cover its defense arm, from which the Polish Army purchased satellites, among other items.

Sweden's Saab, from which Poland recently acquired Carl Gustaf grenade launchers, among other products, is also performing very well. The company's revenue in the first half of the year increased by 32%, approaching €2 billion, and its order book is also growing rapidly. "We are strengthening our market position and seeing continued strong interest in our products. Saab's sales growth is strong, and we continue to invest in building capacity and meeting long-term, strong demand from the defense sector. At the same time, we continue to achieve high profitability," explained Micael Johansson, Saab's president and CEO, in a press release.

Meanwhile, Europe's largest defense company, the UK's BAE Systems, saw its revenues rise by 11% in the first half of the year, to over £14.6 billion, or over €16 billion. Its order book also grew faster than in the first half of 2024. "Our teams delivered further strong operational and financial results in the first half of the year, giving us the confidence to raise our forecasts," commented CEO Charles Woodburn. "In this intensifying global threat, we continue to deliver mission-critical capabilities to armed forces worldwide and invest in our people, technology, and infrastructure to increase the efficiency, capability, and flexibility needed to meet the growing demand for our vital products and services."

\n

Some European giants have not yet published their financial results for the first half of the year, e.g. Germany's Rheinmetall will do so on August 7.

In this context, American giant Lockheed Martin, for example, pales in comparison. Although its revenue in the second quarter alone reached $18 billion, or about €16 billion, it is still the same as a year earlier; unlike European companies, there is no growth. Meanwhile, from April to June, RTX's revenue exceeded $21 billion (over €18 billion), a 9% increase year-on-year.