ABSTRACT
The US is the world's most powerful military nation. Its defence spending in relation to the European nations is striking. The US government spends more than twice as much on the procurement of major weapons systems ($71.8 bn in 1989) than all the European NATO countries together ($32.4 bn), including France. 1 Defence-industrial comparisons are just as stark. The combined arms sales of the 100 largest West European companies amounted to roughly $66 bn in 1988, which was only slightly more than the combined arms sales of the 10 largest US arms-producing companies. 2
