The CEO of top weapons manufacturer Raytheon has told investors that potential US wars with Russia and China offer the corporation economic “benefits” and “opportunities.”
These remarks come at a time when tensions are high between NATO and Russia over Ukraine, and while the United States is waging a new cold war to encircle and contain China.
The comments also show how Raytheon and other Pentagon contractors have knowingly profited from the ongoing war on Yemen, which marks its seventh anniversary in March 2022. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been attacking civilian areas in the poorest country in West Asia, using weapons provided by the US and Britain.
The investment website The Motley Fool published a transcript of Raytheon’s fourth quarter 2021 earnings conference call, held on January 25, featuring Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes.
In the conversation, an analyst named Peter Arment asked Hayes the following:
Hey, Greg, maybe just switching over to defense, could you maybe just give us a little bit of some of the things you’re expecting for maybe on the international side?
Historically Raytheon has had a lot of international awards, what your expectations might be for a book-to-bill and if you’re seeing any kind of increased input from international countries just given the rising tension? Thanks.
The Raytheon CEO responded saying, “I fully expect we’re going to see some benefit” and “opportunities” from the US war drive with Russia over Ukraine, bombing of Yemen, and conflict with Beijing in the South China Sea:
Yeah, Peter. It’s a good question, and I think the answer is obviously, we are seeing, I would say, opportunities for international sales.
We just have to look to last week where we saw the drone attack in the UAE, which have attacked some of their other facilities.
And of course, the tensions in Eastern Europe, the tensions in the South China Sea, all of those things are putting pressure on some of the defense spending over there.
So I fully expect we’re going to see some benefit from it.
On January 21, Saudi Arabia used a Raytheon laser-guided bomb to attack a detention center in Yemen. At least 91 people were killed, and 236 more were injured.
Saudi Arabia attacked a detention center in Yemen with a US-made laser-guided bomb from Raytheon, killing 91 people and injuring 236.
President Joe Biden claimed he'd end US support for Saudi bombing of Yemen, but has not. Instead he sold it more weaponshttps://t.co/vMZyz5Ahsv
— Multipolarista (@Multipolarista) January 30, 2022
