МІЖНАРОДНА ТОРГІВЛЯ ЗБРОЄЮ ТА ЇЇ ВПЛИВ НА ЕКОНОМІКУ ОКРЕМИХ КРАЇН

Abstract

The relevance of the topic is determined by the rapid growth and restructuring of international arms transfers, rising military budgets, and the increasing role of defence industries in national economic strategies. Arms trade differs from ordinary commerce because governments act as the main buyers, suppliers require political authorization, and contracts often combine equipment with training, maintenance, financing, software, ammunition, and long-term technological dependence. Consequently, its economic influence cannot be assessed only through the nominal value of contracts. The article discusses the relationship between arms exports, imports, military expenditure, corporate revenues, industrial capacity, public finance, and external economic stability. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between physical deliveries of major weapons, defence-company sales, and total military spending, since these indicators describe different processes. The discussion covers the United States and France as large exporters with broad domestic production chains; Russia as a producer whose external market position has weakened while wartime demand has expanded; Ukraine as a major recipient of weapons and financial assistance under extreme fiscal pressure; India as an importer seeking localization and technology transfer; and Saudi Arabia as a high-spending buyer pursuing economic diversification. The article examines short-term demand effects, employment, economies of scale, innovation spillovers, import leakage, debt accumulation, opportunity costs, exchange-rate exposure, and the future burden of servicing imported systems. It also considers how procurement design, local content, competitive contracting, research policy, export controls, end-use monitoring, and international security rules affect the distribution of economic benefits and risks. The methodological basis combines comparative, structural, institutional, and statistical approaches. The purpose is to develop a balanced framework for evaluating arms trade through the allocation of value added, fiscal costs, technological capabilities, and long-term dependence rather than through contract volumes alone.