Defence and Sustainable Finance: These 1500 Companies Are Fueling Illegal Wars Worldwide
Facing Finance has analyzed thousands of arms exports to illegal wars worldwide and researched 1,523 companies involved therein.
The results have implications for the debate on Defence and Sustainable Finance. The number of ESG funds investing in defence companies has increased substantially in recent months. ESG fund managers typically justify these investments by citing the importance of equipping EU militaries for the defense of democratic states, echoing the defense lobby’s “guarantor of security and sustainability” narrative. But the ExitArms database shows that European defense companies do not only equip EU militaries, but also export weapons to war zones such as Yemen, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Gaza, and Myanmar.
In this environment, the database provides a nuanced view of defense firms. Here are some numbers published today:
Which companies have supplied the most warring parties?
- Rostec (Russia): 33 different warring parties
- Leonardo (Italy), RTX (USA): 23
- Airbus (EU): 21
- Norinco (China), Textron (USA), Baykar (Turkey): 20 each
- Lockheed Martin (USA): 19
- BAE Systems (UK): 18
- Thales (France): 16
In which countries are most of these companies based?
- USA (223 companies)
- Russia (120)
- United Kingdom (117)
- China (107)
- Germany (96)
- United Arab Emirates (78)
- Turkey (70)
- France (66)
Spotlight Myanmar: 163 foreign companies have been proven to have exported to the Myanmar military since the start of the Rohingya genocide in 2017, primarily Rostec, Russian Helicopters (Russia), Norinco, AVIC (China), Bharat Electronics (India), and Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC (Ukraine).
Spotlight Gaza: 205 foreign companies have been proven to have exported to the Israeli military since the start of the Gaza genocide in 2023, primarily General Dynamics, RTX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Honeywell (all USA).
Spotlight Sudan: 44 foreign companies have been proven to have exported weapons to Sudan after the start of the Sudan war in 2023 and the genocide by RSF militias; primarily Rostec (Russia), Sarsilmaz, Baykar (Turkey), EDGE, and Streit (UAE).
Picture credits: picture alliance/dpa/Sebastian Gollnow
