More than 50 UK civil society organisations – including AOAV – have written to the Prime Minister urging the Government to rebalance its approach to security by investing in diplomacy, development and climate action alongside defence, warning that an increasing focus on militarisation risks making the world less, not more, secure.

Action on Armed Violence analysis found that CEOs of the UK’s largest defence companies earned an average of £5.2 million in 2024, with executive pay rising by £1.53 million on average over the past decade and far outpacing both median UK earnings and wider FTSE 100 remuneration levels amid growing military spending.

The resignations of Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns reflect a defence establishment mindset that treats military spending as an endlessly escalating necessity, despite the reality that no level of funding will ever satisfy the demands of the military-industrial complex.

An AOAV convened panel at the Frontline Club examined how surging global military spending has reinforced a system in which arms companies, governments and media structures are intertwined, while legal and political mechanisms meant to restrain war profits often prove weak or unused.

Record arms industry revenues have surged to $679 billion on the back of wars in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, enriching shareholders while civilians bear the overwhelming burden of explosive violence and prompting AOAV to call for stricter arms controls, greater transparency and a shift from profiting from war to protecting civilians.

Global defence firms are enjoying record profits as governments rearm and investors bet on a world that seems perpetually at war.

Europe is rapidly rearming, turning explosive weapons into engines of industry and policy. Meanwhile, debates about their potential harm to civilians are becoming more muted.