The figure, reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), represents an 8.5% increase from 2024 and marks Africa’s highest military expenditure since at least 1988.
Despite the growing spending, much of the continent’s demand for military equipment continues to be met by foreign manufacturers.
The gap is highlighted by the 2026 Defense News Top 100, which ranks the world’s largest defence companies by defence-related revenues. No African-headquartered company appears on the list.
At the top is US-based Lockheed Martin, which generated about $72.1 billion in defence revenue in 2025 — more than Africa’s entire annual military expenditure.
The contrast highlights one of Africa’s biggest challenges in building a domestic defence industry: governments are increasing military budgets, but local companies have yet to develop the scale, financing and export networks needed to compete with the world’s largest arms manufacturers.
Africa has defence companies, but not global giants
The absence of an African company from the Top 100 does not mean the continent lacks defence manufacturers.
South Africa has Africa’s most developed defence industry, with companies such as Denel, Paramount Group and Milkor producing weapons, armoured vehicles, aircraft, missiles, ammunition and drones.
State-owned Denel remains a major player despite years of financial difficulties. It generated about R1.4 billion ($76 million) in revenue in 2025/26, while its Rheinmetall joint venture has secured major international ammunition contracts.
Private firms are also expanding their reach. Paramount Group supplies defence technology to more than 30 countries across five continents, while Milkor says its products are used in more than 56 countries.
A new defence-tech generation is emerging in Nigeria. Terra Industries, founded in 2024, has raised $52 million and is developing drones, autonomous systems and AI-powered security technologies, with its systems protecting infrastructure worth about $11 billion across Africa.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Arab Organization for Industrialization and Nigeria’s DICON are expanding local military production through partnerships and technology transfer.
But despite these advances, African defence companies remain far smaller than the global giants, lacking the revenues, capital and international order books needed to break into the world’s top 100.
The foreign companies capturing Africa’s defence spending
Africa’s rising military expenditure remains a major opportunity for foreign defence manufacturers, with the continent still heavily reliant on imports for major weapons systems.
The scale gap is significant. Lockheed Martin generated $72.1 billion in defence revenue in 2025, more than Africa’s entire military spending that year.
Other US and European giants, including RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and BAE Systems, also generated tens of billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, companies from China, Turkey, South Korea and the UAE are expanding their global reach. UAE-based EDGE Group ranked among the world’s top 40 defence firms with more than $4.5 billion in defence revenue, while Turkish firms such as ASELSAN and Roketsan also made the Top 100.
The contrast highlights Africa’s defence-industrial gap: military spending is rising, but much of the money still flows to foreign manufacturers rather than building globally competitive African defence companies.