Exploding Weapons Orders, US Weapons Industry Has Not Yet Reap Greatly
JAKARTA - War has sent orders for military weapons and aircraft soaring. But the latest financial reports show that US arms factories have not fully enjoyed the flood of orders.
Citing Al Jazeera, Friday, April 24, the US-Israeli war with Iran and the Russian-Ukrainian war have increased the demand for weapons. The Pentagon is also replenishing its weapons and aircraft stocks.
The problem is, production can't always keep up with demand. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Boeing's Q1 reports are still overshadowed by supply chain disruptions and production delays.
Lockheed Martin posted net profit of 1.5 billion US dollars in the first quarter of 2026, down from 1.7 billion US dollars a year earlier. The company stumbled on delays in the development of the F-16 fighter jet and supply pressures on the C-130 transport aircraft.
The cost of rework and the delayed schedule also put pressure on Lockheed's performance. Sales of the secret program also fell. The increase in F-35 sales was only able to hold off a deeper decline.
The Trump administration proposed buying 85 new F-35 jets by 2027. However, the market is not satisfied. Lockheed shares fell 5.1 percent on Thursday's trading and weakened more than 12 percent in the last five days.
Boeing is starting to improve.
Boeing recorded a first-quarter loss of 7 million US dollars. The figure is much smaller than the 31 million US dollars loss in the same period last year.
Boeing's defense and space revenue rose 50 percent to $233 million. In March, Boeing also received an additional $2.3 billion contract from the Pentagon.
Boeing's performance is also supported by space projects, including NASA's Artemis II mission. In the commercial aircraft business, the first quarter delivery was the highest since 2019.
However, Boeing is still spending $1.5 billion in cash to increase production and accelerate the certification of the 737 MAX and 777X.
Order increases, obstacles remain
Northrop Grumman posted revenue of 9.88 billion US dollars, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier. Demand for the B-21 stealth bomber is one of the supports.
The company also got a boost from a $1.9 billion budget for the B-21 Raider and a deal with the US Air Force to increase the aircraft's production capacity by 25 percent.
RTX, Raytheon's parent company, posted revenue of 22.08 billion US dollars, up 9 percent. Demand for missile and air defense systems was the main driver. In April, RTX won a 3.7 billion US dollar contract to supply Patriot GEM-T missiles to Ukraine.
Despite the crowded orders, the shares of a number of defense companies are not all strengthening. RTX weakened, as did Northrop in recent days.
War does make the demand for weapons rise. However, large orders do not automatically turn into profit. Behind it is still a supply chain, flight tests, certification, and production capacity that determine how quickly companies can fulfill contracts.