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The report also revealed that Ukraine has become the world’s largest arms importer between 2020 and 2024, while the United States has further solidified its position as the world’s leading arms exporter, accounting for 43% of global arms exports, ahead of France.
Over the 2020-2024 period, European NATO member states increased their arms imports by 105% compared to 2015-2019, a trend SIPRI attributes to “a general rearmament in Europe in response to the threat posed by Russia.”
The United States provided 64% of these arms, up from 52% in the previous five-year period. Peter Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Program, stated that “in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia and strained transatlantic relations during Trump’s first presidency, European NATO members have sought to reduce their dependence on arms imports and strengthen Europe’s defense industry.”
However, he emphasized that “the transatlantic arms supply relationship is deeply rooted, as imports from the United States have increased, with European NATO countries ordering nearly 500 fighter jets and a wide array of other weapons from the U.S.”
Wezeman noted that while France does not rely heavily on U.S. arms, other major European nations, such as Italy and the United Kingdom, have purchased American-made F-35 stealth fighters and Patriot air defense systems, which are difficult to replace quickly.
He also pointed out that countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, which have tensions with the U.S. over Greenland’s future, remain heavily dependent on American weaponry.
According to SIPRI, reversing this trend would require significant political and financial investment, as acquiring new military equipment is a long-term process that often exceeds the tenure of a U.S. president.
For the first time in 20 years, Europe has become the primary destination for U.S. arms exports, accounting for 35% of total sales between 2020 and 2024, surpassing the Middle East (33%). Matthew George, Director of SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Program, highlighted that “with 43% of global arms exports, the U.S. share is four times larger than that of the second-largest exporter, France.”
France has tripled its arms exports to Europe compared to the 2015-2019 period, largely due to sales of Rafale fighter jets to Greece and Croatia, as well as arms shipments to Ukraine. India remains France’s top customer, receiving 28% of its arms exports, nearly double the total share of all European buyers combined (15%).
Russia, the world’s third-largest arms exporter, has experienced a sharp 64% decline in exports, a trend that has accelerated since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Wezeman attributed this downturn to international sanctions and pressure from the U.S. and its allies discouraging countries from purchasing Russian weapons. He also noted that India, which accounted for 38% of Russian arms exports from 2020 to 2024, is increasingly turning to alternative suppliers, while China has been strengthening its own defense industry.
In the Middle East, despite the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel’s arms imports have remained stable between the two periods analyzed, according to SIPRI.
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