Why do countries sell their military hardware?
For example, the American made M1 Abrams tank, we have sold a number of these tanks to Iraq, Australia, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Why? The Germans have sold there Leopard 2 tank to 15 other countries, obviously so far I have only given examples of two countries tanks, but this seems to be the case with weapons and aircrafts as well. I remember hearing about Russia just making a new Jet fighter that China bought. The Russians are probably the best example of what I'm talking about here, how many countries owned and operated T-series tanks? T-72 T-80 T-90, they are like the worlds most common tank that have been in every conflict from every country even though they were originally made by the Russians. Am I the only one who thinks selling your military hardware to the rest of the world is a bad idea? sure you make money but then other countries own your technology and you no longer have a technological edge or surprise over future enemies because the rest of the world or atleast most of the world owns the same equipment you do.
Military - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
They do it for profit, quite simply. The defense industry is an industry like any other. Just because the U.S. sells a Patriot missile system to Saudi Arabia doesn't mean Saudi now "owns the technology". Without ongoing US support, training, and parts, many systems would quickly become worthless. Iran has tons of old U.S. hardware they can't use because we stopped selling them parts and support services after the revolution. Good luck.
2 :
It's called capitalism.
3 :
They do it to make money and build international relations, it's also good because we know how their systems work, as we build them. The British Royal Navy, I'm in, sells old ships to the Bangladeshi Navy. It happens all the time, I have no problem with it, as long as the ones their replacing it with are far superior. And, if they are only sold to countries we don't consider a threat.
4 :
Obviously you sell something because you want to make money, preferably for profit.
5 :
You asked a question that falls right into my specialty. My current position is as a Security Cooperation Officer. I didn't read all the previous answers, but the ones I did read were all completely wrong. They say we do it to make a profit or to make money. Could not be more wrong! In my job, we assist our allies in developing their militaries so they can do jobs that we would otherwise need to do. In the end, it helps us. I'm currently in a position where I help equip and train forces along one of the borders with Afghanistan. Thanks in small part to our work, this country can secure its borders and stop terrorists, drug and human traffickers and this in the long run makes America safer. Back to the profit thing! In my job, I facilitate the contact between industry and the country in which I work. I help move the money and the contracts back and forth. And we are FORBIDDEN to make a profit off this. We also may not take a loss. Whatever it costs to purchase equipment and move that equipment from America to the target country is all we charge. So your position that we "make money" is incorrect. What we do is strengthen our allies. And our allies don't "own" that equipment in the sense that they can sell it to other nations. It is there only for their proper use and I have a responsibility to inspect and ensure that equipment is accounted for and is used properly.
