US Defense Contractors' Revenues Surge Due to Ukraine War: Reuters

US defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, are expecting their revenues to rise in the upcoming quarters driven by orders for artillery shells, Patriot missile systems, and anticipated increases in armored vehicle orders related to military operations in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The agency states that by the end of 2022, American defense contractors signed new contracts to supply Ukraine with direct arms and to replenish American stocks sent to Kyiv. According to Reuters, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics reported better-than-expected financial results. The leaders of these companies anticipate that besides the Ukrainian military conflict, the war between Israel and Hamas will also lead to increased demand in the near future.

“We quickly moved from producing 14,000 artillery rounds a month to 20,000. We are ahead of schedule to ramp up production to 85,000 a month, or even 100,000 rounds,” said Jason Aiken, Chief Financial Officer of General Dynamics.

General Dynamics’ Combat Systems subsidiary has reported a nearly 25% year-over-year revenue increase, according to Reuters. RTX, which manufactures the AMRAAM missiles used in Ukraine, stated that since the outbreak of military operations on February 24, 2022, it has received about $3 billion in orders aimed at increasing U.S. supplies to Kyiv. Northrop Grumman’s defense systems sales have also risen by 6% year-on-year, reports Reuters.