ifo Institute: German Defense Companies Tend to Produce for Export rather than for the Bundeswehr

A comparison of the largest players in the global defense industry reveals differences between economic and security-policy interests. “In some countries, the sales of the world’s largest defense companies are primarily reflected in defense spending, while in others they are primarily reflected in defense exports,” Blum says.

For the study, Blum examined the relationship between the sales of the 100 largest defense companies, the export and import of major conventional weapons, and defense expenditure in 21 countries for the period 2002–2016. The analysis of supply and demand for defense equipment allows conclusions to be drawn about the individual defense industries. During the period under review, defense companies of major powers such as the United States and Russia primarily met those countries’ own defense requirements, while defense sales by German companies were mainly export-driven.