Sipri think tank says European weapons have surged in the past four years

Simon Johnson

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – European weapons rose 155% in 2020-24, with Ukraine becoming the world’s largest arms importer after Russia’s 2022 invasion, a report released by the leading conflict-minded tank on Monday.

Data from Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI) shows that the United States continues to dominate the global phase, with U.S. companies increasing their global arms export share to 43% in 2020-24, from 35% during the 2015-2019 period. The U.S. arms exports are the same as the next eight countries combined.

Sipri said that from 2020-24, Europe generally accounted for 28% of global arms imports, up from 11% between 2015 and 2019.

Ukraine alone accounts for 8.8% of global arms imports in 2020-24, with half of them coming from the United States, which has stopped military aid to Keeff under Donald Trump.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, with the Kremlin and the White House saying the mistakes could trigger World War III.

The war emphasized Europe’s reliance on American weapons, and although the Transatlantic Alliance was the basis of European security strategy since World War II, it was increasingly questioned.

Sipri data shows that the United States has provided more than 50% of European weapons imports starting in 2020-24, while the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Norway provide imports among top buyers.

European leaders supported plans to spend more on defense last Thursday after Trump reversed U.S. policy.

“During Trump’s first presidency, Russia’s increasingly warlike Russian and transatlantic relations, NATO states in Europe have taken measures to reduce their dependence on arms imports and strengthen European arms production,” said Pieter Wezeman, senior fellow at the Sipri Arms Transfers program.

“However, the relationship between transatlantic weapons supply has deep roots. Imports from the U.S. have risen, with NATO states with nearly 500 fighter jets, and many other weapons are still in the U.S..”

During the 2020-24 period, Russian arms exports fell to 7.8% of the global market, while in the first four years, exports fell to 21% of the previous four years due to international sanctions on the Ukrainian war and increased domestic demand for weapons.

Weapon imports in Asia and Oceania fell by 21%, mainly because China produced more weapons.

SIPRI data show that overall, global weapons transfers were roughly at the same level during the 2020-2024 period.

(Report by Simon Johnson, Editor of Timothy’s Legacy)