ISTANBUL

US weapons manufacturers stand to gain significantly from a major military buildup in the Caribbean, according to a report published this week by Responsible Statecraft.

The US has deployed a number of assets and personnel to the region, including the guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham, the Aegis-equipped USS Gettysburg, the littoral combat ship USS Sioux City, and the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Newport News.

The deployment involves weapons systems carrying steep price tags, highlighting the financial scale of the operation. Arleigh-Burke class destroyers cost approximately $2.5 billion each, while AC-130J Ghostrider gunships run $165 million per unit. P-8 Poseidon aircraft are priced at $83 million per unit, and Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercrafts cost around $90 million each.

Five established defense companies including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and RTX stand to benefit the most from the buildup, according to an expert.

The weapons industry stands to gain significantly from maintenance costs and follow-up services, which account for about 70% of a weapon system's lifetime cost.

Contractor General Atomics quickly benefited from the buildup, receiving a $14.1 billion contract to support procurement and sustainment of its MQ-9 Reaper Systems in mid-September, soon after the US campaign began.

Lockheed Martin, whose products including F-35 fighters and the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, produces the warships' Aegis combat systems, for which it received a $3.1 billion contract to support.

In October, the company invested $50 million in Saildrone, which has been utilizing unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to conduct surveillance in the region since February.

According to the report, with deployed vessels carrying Tomahawk cruise missiles that cost the Pentagon $1.3 million each, missile producer RTX is poised to make substantial revenue if the military is required to restock its arsenal.

The US has been executing airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea as part of actions against suspected drug-trafficking operations in international waters under the Trump administration's counter-narcotics campaign.

On his first day in office in his second term, Trump signed an executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The US military’s operations began in the Caribbean Sea in September with the sinking of a Venezuelan speedboat accused of drug trafficking.

By late October, the campaign had spread to the Eastern Pacific, targeting drug trafficking routes in the region.

The US military has conducted at least 20 strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels since early September, resulting in a total of 80 deaths.