War profiteer companies

On 23rd May, members of US peace organisations protested in front of the offices of asset management company BlackRock, while the companies shareholders attended the annual meeting.

Lockheed Martin is the world's biggest arms manufacturer, and world's biggest exporter of arms. The companies headquarters are in the USA and it employs over 126,000 people worldwide, building everything from ballistic missiles to combat ships, robots to satellites, radars to aircraft, and other products and services.

Elbit Systems, an “international defence electronics company” is Israel's largest weapons producer. Through it's subsidiaries around the world, the company produces a wide variety of high-tech products for the military and security industry.

CMI (“Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie”) Defence is a Belgian company, building a wide range of artillery systems for light and medium armoured vehicles, as well as related services and training, including simulation systems, maintenance and repair, and upgrades.

Thales is a French company, part owned by the French government, that builds a vast range of radars, sonars and electronic surveillance satellites, tactical communication systems and combat management systems, drones, helicopter avionics, armoured vehicles, mortar systems and missiles.

Northrop Grumman is the world's fifth biggest arms manufacturer, with over 68,000 members of staff around the world, and builds a wide range of weapon technology, including planes, drones, sensors, and radars.

In Canada, eleven indigenous Guatemalan women are in the process of taking a multinational mining company to court. The women allege that in 2007, police officers, soldiers, and private security personnel attacked their village of Lote Ocho, in eastern Guatemala, and burned dozens of homes in a bid to drive the community from their ancestral land.

Moog Inc. is a large weapons manufacturer, specialising in hi-tech systems for a range of military and civilian purposes. According to the SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Moog is the world’s 83rd biggest arms company.

The families of victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting have been in court, trying to hold the gun company Remington accountable for the impact of the way their weapons are marketed.

Aimpoint is a Swedish company, manufacturing red-dot magnifying optic sights for a wide range of military, law enforcement, and commercial hunting weapons. Aimpoint was formed in 1974 and is based in Malmo, Sweden. Militaries all over the world, including the US military and NATO member countries use the company’s sights, and they are available from suppliers on every continent.

October 7th marked sixteen years since the start of the US War in Afghanistan – America’s longest war. In an effort to justify the continued and expanded presence of US troops in the country, President Trump is seeking a plan to have US companies extract minerals from resource-rich Afghanistan.

In September 2017, hundreds of weapons companies gathered in London for the Defence and Security Equipment International arms fair, to meet representatives from militaries all over the world. WRI produced a booklet profiling some of the companies attending.