In this file photo dated Sept 26, 2022, a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) is pictured during military exercise in Skede, Latvia. (PHOTO / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Sales of US military equipment to foreign governments in 2023 rose 16 percent to a record $238 billion, the US State Department said on Monday, as countries sought to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine and prepare for major conflicts.

The figures underpin expectations of stronger sales for the likes of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman whose shares are forecast to rise amid rising global instability.

Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics expect existing orders for hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, hundreds of Patriot missile interceptors, and a surge in orders for armored vehicles will underpin their results in coming quarters

Arms sales and transfers are viewed as "important US foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security," the State Department said in a statement.

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Sales approved in the year included $10 billion worth of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Poland, $2.9 billion worth of AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-To-Air Missiles to Germany, and National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems to Ukraine.

Lockheed makes the HIMARS, and RTX, formerly Raytheon makes AMRAAM. RTX and Norway's Kongsberg produce NASAMS.

Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics expect existing orders for hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, hundreds of Patriot missile interceptors, and a surge in orders for armored vehicles will underpin their results in coming quarters.

There are two major ways foreign governments purchase arms from US companies: direct commercial sales negotiated with a company, or foreign military sales in which a government typically contacts a Defense Department official at the US embassy in its capital. Both require US government approval.

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The direct military sales by US companies rose to $157.5 billion in fiscal 2023 from $153.6 billion in fiscal 2022, while sales arranged through the US government rose to $80.9 billion in 2023 from $51.9 billion the prior year.