Arms manufacturers are winning after 100 days of war in Ukraine

Friday 3 June marks day 100 of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow's troops managed to occupy large stretches of the eastern Donbas region and secured a land bridge from Crimea. But Ukrainian troops have held their ground in the rest of the country, largely helped by weapons from the West. 

The United States and Germany this week pledged to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons Kyiv has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces close in on capturing a key city in the east.

Despite multiple countries sending arms to Ukraine since Russia invaded on 24 February, Kyiv has complained that it is still outgunned as it pleaded for more heavy weapons.

Here is a look at the weaponry that has either been promised or sent so far. This is not a complete list given some nations keep their donations secret.

United States

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday it had agreed to Kyiv's request for HIMARS multiple-rocket launchers, which will allow Ukrainian forces to hit deeper behind Russian lines while staying out of range of Russian artillery.

The HIMARS, which will be limited in range by the US to prevent Ukrainian forces using them to strike targets inside Russia, are the centrepiece of a $700 million package of weapons to be paid for from a $40 billion fund for Ukraine approved by Congress last month.

According to the State Department, the Biden Administration has already provided more than $7.3 billion in "security assistance" since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. That figure includes $4.6 billion in military aid since the beginning of the war on 24 February 2022. 

The weapons committed include 108 155mm howitzers, 90 vehicles to tow them, 220,000 rounds of 155mm artillery, and 121 "Phoenix Ghost" tactical drones recently developed by the US Air Force specifically to address Ukraine's needs.

The US has also pledged 20 Mi-17 helicopters, 200 armoured personnel carriers, 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, over 6,500 Javelin anti-tank missiles, several thousand rifles with ammunition and a range of other equipment.

Turkey

Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 combat drones have become famous the world over since the war began, with videos going viral of Ukrainian forces using them to destroy convoys of Russian armoured vehicles and artillery.

Ukraine also said it used a TB2 to distract the defences of the Russian warship Moskva before pounding it with missiles in mid-April, causing it to sink.

Before the invasion Kyiv had around 20 TB2s. In March, Kyiv said it had received more, without saying how many.

France 

On 13 April, the French Defence Ministry said in a statement that it had delivered more than 100 million euros of military equipment to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, France is delivering Caesar cannons with a range of 40 kilometres.

The Caesar (short for "Camion équipé d'un système d'artillerie" or Truck equipped with an artillery system) is a self-propelled 155mm/52-calibre gun-howitzer that is mounted on a six-wheel truck chassis.

Ceasars are made by Nexter Systems, that belongs to KNDS, "the European leader in land defence" according to its website, a French-German-Dutch arms company that has its headquarters in Amsterdam, jointly owned by the French state, and German truck manufacturer Wegmann. 

Nordic countries

Norway has sent 100 French-made Mistral anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as well as 4,000 M72 anti-tank weapons.

Sweden announced in late February it would send 10,000 single use anti-tank launchers along with demining equipment.

The single-use New Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAW), developed since 2002 by Saab Bofors Dynamics of Sweden, is mainly produced in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Team MBT LAW UK.

It includes 14 subcontractors, most notably Thales Air Defence, a subsidiary of the French Thales Group. The NLAW is cheaper, but has a shorter range than the US-developed Javelins

Finland, which like Sweden has applied for NATO membership since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, announced in February it would send Kyiv 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,500 single use anti-tank launchers.

A month after the war began, Helsinki said it would send more weapons, without specifying which type.

Three days after the war started, Denmark – which voted to overturn its opt-out from the EU's common defence policy this week – said it would send 2,700 anti-tank launchers.

On a visit to Kyiv in late April, Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen announced another 600 million Danish kroner (€80.6 million) for weapons. Washington says Denmark plans to send a US-made Harpoon anti-ship missile system, which can target ships as far as 300 kilometres offshore.

And the winner is ....

In spite of Ukraine battling back Russian forces from around Kyiv and other places, Russian troops continue to strengthen their hold on the Donbas region, and an end of the conflict is not in sight. 

Meanwhile, arms companies are facing huge demands. The world's biggest arms company, Lockheed-Martin, reported in April that Russia's attack on Ukraine has "boosted demand" for its missile defence systems.

Although first-quarter 2022 financial results showed a decrease in net sales over 2021, this changes massively in the second quarter.

"We've got demand signals for THAAD and PAC-3 from around the world," chief executive Jim Taiclet was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying after Lockheed reported a drop in quarterly sales and profits.

• Sweden and Finland move nearer NATO membership

THAAD and PAC-3 refers to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system and the interceptors for Patriot missile systems.

Governments were now thinking "it's worthwhile to have an effective missile defence capacity in your country ... especially when you see missiles hitting hospitals and train stations in Ukraine," Taiclet said in explaining the demand.

Lockheed-Martin stocks show a spectacular jump since the start of the war, and the value went up from $395 on 24 February, the day the Russian invasion started, to almost $470 in April. 

Shares of Raytheon Technologies Corp, co-developer of the Javelin anti-tank missile launchers show a similar boost after 24 February, but prices slumped after supply line problems hit production.

The biggest winner of the Ukraine war is probably Saab, co-creator of the Javelin-competitor, the NLAW, which has seen the value of its stocks increase with a giant leap of 81 percent since the start of the war.

Shares from French arms giant Thales, co-producer of the NLAW, jumped over 41 percent. 

(with agencies)