International | Flexing their arms

Meet the world’s hottest upstart weapons dealers

A ferocious global arms race is big business

K-9A1 and K-55A1 howitzers under the army's 5th Artillery Brigade fire shells in a drill at a firing range in Cheorwon, about 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul, South Korea
Photograph: Defense Ministry/ Zuma/ Eyevine
|8 min read

The Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing was anything but tranquil on September 3rd, when Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin and others gathered to celebrate the end of the second world war. Chinese troops marched in a parade designed to boost national pride and flex military muscles. Perhaps most important, the parade showcased China’s newest warfighting equipment to potential adversaries, such as the DF-61 intercontinental ballistic missile. It also showed off new kit to potential buyers, including a high-powered laser for shooting down aircraft, as well as drones and anti-ship missiles, both supersonic and hypersonic.

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