Military-industrial complex

The United States has strengthened its position as the world's leading exporter of weapons over the past five years, providing about a third of the world's arms supplies. This is reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), quoted by DPA.

After the US on Thursday placed arms dealer Slobodan Tesic on a global blacklist among a host of figures named as human rights abusers and corrupt actors, and after calling him "one of the biggest arms dealers in the Balkans", Serbia's Ministry of Trade said it will take such sanctions into account.

Slobodan Tesic, described as "the biggest dealers of arms and munitions in the Balkans", is among 39 individuals and entities on whom the US imposed sanctions on Thursday.

Arms sales by the world's top 100 arm producers rose 1.9 percent in 2016, the first year of growth in five years, with the U.S. and Western Europe taking an over 82 percent share, according to an international survey released on Dec. 11.  

Russia is hopeful that the new weapons it tested for the first time in Syria will lead to a spike in arms sales abroad, officials have said.

Turkey needs to be strong and establish a national defense industry, especially from its own sources, the undersecretary for defense industries said May 11.

"Therefore, our efforts will continue until we reach the best level at defense industry for our freedom and future," Ismail Demir told Anadolu Agency at the 13th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul.

Croatia's Economy Ministry approved the export of 101 million euros' worth of arms and ammunition to Saudi Arabia in 2015, according to an EU report which has yet to be formally published.

This included 87 million euros' worth of ammunition, five million euros of weapons, six million euros of protective military clothing and three million euros of weapons parts.

According to the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber, the country's arms producers achieved profits in 2016 that were between 15 and 20 per cent higher than the year before.

The Chamber's data shows that the value of arms exports in 2016 amounted to 87.4 million euros, compared to 70 million euros in the previous year.

Turkey's leading arms companies' sales rose by more than 10 percent in 2015, according to market analysis released late on Dec. 5.      

The United States is the leader in global arms exports from 2011 to 2015, with one-third of global major weapons exports.

In this period, U.S. weapons exports increased 27 percent compared to 2006-2010, when that country also topped the list.