GOVERNMENTS have helped the world’s biggest arms dealers avoid the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, a report revealed today.

The sales of the top 100 weapons companies in 2020 were 17 per cent higher last year than in 2015, according to the latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Their sales of arms and military services totalled $531 billion (£400bn) in 2020, an increase of 1.3 per cent in real terms compared with 2019, despite the global economy contracting by more than 3 per cent.

The figures show that 2020 was the sixth consecutive year of growth in arms sales to governments.

Sipri researcher Alexandra Marksteiner said: “The industry giants were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services.

“In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.”

The top five arms firms were all from the United States, with Lockheed-Martin, which counts F-35 fighter jets and various types of missiles among its bestsellers, helping to consolidate the US in first place with total sales worth $285 billion (£215bn).

Chinese firms accounted for the second-largest share, with the combined arms sales of five companies amounting to an estimated $66.8bn (£50bn) in 2020, 1.5 per cent more than in 2019.

Britain was in third place, with arms sales of $37.5bn in 2020, up by 6.2 per cent compared with 2019, with BAE Systems being the highest-placed European firm.

The arms sales of the three Israeli companies listed in the top 100 reached $10.4bn (£76bn), 2 per cent of the total.

The Sipri said that the firms had benefited from the broad injection of government cash into economies, as well as specific measures designed to help arms companies, such as accelerated payments or order schedules.

Of the top-producing countries, only France and Russia saw their firms’ sales decline last year.

The companies listed are also those with large political influence, exercised through effective lobbying.

Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies political scientist Markus Bayer said: “Defence companies spend millions every year lobbying politicians and donating to their campaigns.

“In the past two decades, their extensive network of lobbyists and donors [in the US] have directed $285 million (£215m) in campaign contributions and $2.5bn (1.9bn) in lobbying spending to influence defence policy.”