By Han Bing and Zhou Xiaotian

韩冰、周啸天

According to the data revealed by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden on April 22, the military spending of all member states of the US-led NATO amounted to more than 1.3 trillion USD last year, over half of the world's total. Among them, the military spending of the US alone exceeded 900 billion USD. Many European countries also saw significant rises in their military spending.

瑞典斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所22日披露的数据显示，美国主导的北大西洋公约组织的成员国去年军费支出总计超过1.3万亿美元，占到世界各国军费总和一半以上。其中，仅美国一国的军费支出就超过9000亿美元，欧洲多国军费也明显上涨。

While the military spending of NATO countries increases, NATO's military industry drives onto the "fast track' of expansion, with the US and many European countries actively enlarging military production capacity and accelerating armaments research and development. Some analysts noted that the further growth of the military-industrial complex interest groupsin NATO would intensify the arms race which has already trapped the world and introduce the risk of more conflicts and confrontations, which requires the world to stay vigilant.

在北约国家军费支出增加的同时，北约军工产业扩张进入“快车道”，美国和欧洲多国积极扩大军工产能,加速军备研发。分析人士指出，北约内部的军工复合体利益集团进一步壮大，将加剧全球深陷军备竞赛以及引发更多冲突对抗的风险，世界需要对此保持警惕。

Since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the tension in the global geopolitical situation has continued to increase and regional conflicts have emerged recurrently. However, the NATO military industry embraces a new round of expansion in the flames of war, embodied in the surge of share prices of many US and European military-industrial giants.

自2022年俄乌冲突升级以来，全球地缘政治形势持续紧张，地区冲突此起彼伏。然而，北约军工产业在硝烟弥漫中迎来新一轮扩张,美欧多家军工巨头股价猛增。

In the US, Northrop Grumman has seen a rise of nearly 40% in its share price, and Lockheed Martin over 30%. In Europe, from January 2022 to February 2024, as many as six major European military-industrial groups enjoyedthe share prices more than doubled.

美国方面，诺斯罗普-格鲁曼公司股价猛涨近40%，洛克希德-马丁公司股价上涨超30%。欧洲方面，2022年1月至2024年2月，股价涨幅超过一倍的大型欧洲军工集团就多达6家。

According to the data released by the US Department of State, the US foreign military sales in 2023 reached a record 238 billion USD, up 16% from the previous year. For Northrop Grumman Corporation, General Dynamics Corp and other US military giants, the year-on-year growth in their revenue that year reached or exceeded 7%. In Europe, Rheinmetall obtained a revenue growth of more than 12% in 2023, andBAE Systemsof 9%. William Cook Group, aBritish tank track manufacturer,got a revenue growth of 20% in 2023 and expectsa further 40% increase in 2024. US Senator Bernie Sanderswrote that many US military industries "use war as a way to fill their pockets."

从美国国务院披露的数据显示，2023年美国对外军售额达到创纪录的2380亿美元，较上年增长16%。诺斯罗普-格鲁曼、通用动力等美国军工巨头当年收入同比增长达到或超过7%。在欧洲，莱茵金属2023年收入增长超12%，贝宜系统增长9%。英国坦克履带制造商威廉•库克2023年收入增长20%，2024年预计将进一步增长40%。美国国会参议员伯尼•桑德斯撰文称，美国许多军工企业“把战争当作填满自己口袋的途径”。

Furthermore, military interest groups in NATO members have increased their influence on political decision-making. Take the US as an example. Open Secrets, a US nongovernmental organization, disclosed that US defense contractors spent nearly 140 million USD on lobbying the federal government in 2023, the highest amount in nearly a decade, while during the same period, companies and individuals related to the defense industry directly donated millions of dollars to members of Congressin election campaigns.

此外，北约成员国的军工利益集团加大了对政治决策的影响渗透。以美国为例，据美国非政府组织“公开的秘密”披露，美国国防承包商2023年花费了近1.4亿美元用于游说联邦政府，金额为近10年来最高，与国防工业有关的企业和个人同期还直接向国会议员提供了数百万美元竞选捐款。

In recent years, many scholars and media practitioners have repeatedly called for the world to be alert to the fact that as the new round of expansion of NATO military industry has facilitated the power expansion of the US and Western military-industrial complexes, Western military enterprises will further collude with politicians to manipulate national decision-making, leading to higher risks of more conflicts and confrontations in the world.

近年来，不少学者、媒体人多次呼吁，世界要警惕北约军工产业的新一轮扩张使得美西方军工复合体势力膨胀，导致西方军工企业和政客相互勾连并左右国家决策的现象更加严重，加剧世界发生更多冲突对抗的风险。

Franklin Spinney, who worked in the US Office of the Secretary of Defense for 26 years, said that the enormous impact of the military-industrial complex interests group on US foreign policy is often ignored by the academia and media. On the one hand, the military-industrial complex attempts to exert influence on key constituencies through projects and jobs, to bind their interests with politicians. On the other hand, it leverages the media and politicians to demonize other countries, exaggerate "security threats" and stir up voters' sentiments, aiming to drive military spending rise and seek more benefits for itself.

曾在美国国防部长办公室工作26年的富兰克林•斯平尼表示，美国军工复合体利益集团对美国外交政策的巨大影响常常被学术界和媒体所“忽略”。军工复合体一方面通过项目和就业影响关键选区，进而与政客实现利益捆绑，另一方面通过媒体和政客妖魔化其他国家，夸大“安全威胁”，煽动选民情绪，以达到推动军费上涨的目的，从而为自身牟取更多好处。