This is a conspiracy theory, as while weapons manufacturers profit from war, they would profit any way governments bought, maintained or upgraded weapons. There is also no evidence that BAE or GE go out of their way to cause wars. Indeed, they would rather sell weapons to all sides. Arms races are certain profit, wars bring uncertainty, and cut off other massive cash flows (like the Iran oil embargo)

Pretty sure massive amounts of German arms manufacturers went out of business after both WWI and WWII. If the country is utterly defeated, it doesn't bode well for shareholders if the company is dismantled as part of peace talks, or if the government backing its payments shrivels up into nothing.

imagine 50 years of no war, civil uprisings, no global enemy or power hungry empire, warmongering dictator etc. who would need latest war tech in massive numbers?

war is a seed planted for long term future. look at middle east - I guarantee you 100 years from now on, this will still be a bad place to be. who will profit from it? all that arm all sides.

when last few US wars were declared, for whatever funky official reasons, do you really believe that only US president and very few true and just in government were involved in deciding if, when, how, what tech will be used etc? in this I trust Russia much more - epicenter of power is pretty clear there.

I don't believe in some Illuminati governing everything, nor do I believe that people with real power are not corrupted to their rotten core, owning favors left and right, their missteps are overlooked and their places +-secured etc. you don't get too high in politics (or army for that matter which becomes politics from certain level) as independent and just. just my gut feeling and common sense. but boy would i be glad to be wrong!

This conspiracy theory has the same fatal flaw that many others have: If arms companies are conspiring to cause war to secure business then there should be an even greater conspiracy undoing their work because many more businesses are hindered by war.

In this same way you can figure out that conspiracies about free energy and coal/gas industry suppression of alternative energies is bullshit. Almost everyone else in the world would love to have cheaper energy so they would not allow the oil or gas companies to suppress alternative energy.

Well that's my logic anyways.