The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) became the world’s 60th-largest arms-producing and military service company last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a ranking published on Monday.
The state-run defense firm was included in the ranking for the first time, the SIPRI said, adding that it reported gross sales of US$2 billion last year.
The SIPRI did not contact the NSCIST and likely used publicly available information for its assessment, a senior defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Photo: CNA
The NCSIST last year recorded sales of NT$57.9 billion (US$1.89 billion), a figure that is expected to surge to NT$120 billion next year, he said.
The doubling of sales is in large part due to the Ministry of National Defense’s program to augment the sea and air capabilities of Taiwan’s armed forces, he said.
The procurement of ship and aircraft-launched missiles — a major component of the plan — would alone contribute NT$58.19 billion to the NCSIST’s income, meaning that it would likely move up the rankings next year, he said.
The NCSIST is capable of manufacturing 70 Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missiles and 131 units of either the Hsiung Feng II (HF-2) subsonic anti-ship missile or the Hsiung Sheng cruise missile per year, he said.
The firm is also capable of manufacturing 96 Tien Kung II air defense missiles and 50 Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles per year, he said.
The arms and military services sector reported global sales of US$592 billion last year, achieving annual growth of 1.9 percent despite worsening supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the SIPRI said.
The US continues to assert its dominance in the defense industry, and the top five arms manufacturers were Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrup-Grumman and General Dynamics, it said.
Six Russian firms were also in the top 100, but their year-on-year sales growth slowed to 0.4 percent, indicating stagnation in the Russian sector, it said.
The 21 Asia and Oceania-based arms companies included in the ranking posted sales of US$136 billion last year, an increase of 5.8 percent year-on-year, it said, adding they comprised five Japanese, four South Korean and eight Chinese companies.
The Chinese defense firms reported year-on-year sales growth of 6.3 percent, outperforming the average for the Asia and Oceania grouping, it added.
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