STOCKHOLM – Nato countries in Europe more than doubled their arms imports in the past five years, more than 60 per cent of which were purchases of US weaponry, according to a report published on March 10.
The findings by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) coincide with an announcement by European Union states that they intend to strengthen the continent’s defence capabilities in response to a US foreign policy shift under President Donald Trump.
In the period 2020 to 2024, Ukraine became the world’s largest arms importer.
The United States consolidated its position as the world’s top weapons exporter – accounting for 43 per cent of global exports – far ahead of the second largest, France, which accounted for 9.6 per cent.
Over that same period, arms imports by European Nato members rose by 105 per cent compared to the previous five years.
That reflects “the rearmament taking place among states in Europe in response to the threat from Russia”, said Mr Mathew George, the head of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.
The United States provided 64 per cent of these weapons, compared to 52 per cent in the period from 2015 to 2019.
“With an increasingly belligerent Russia and transatlantic relations under stress during the first Trump presidency, European Nato states have taken steps to reduce their dependence on arms imports and to strengthen the European arms industry,” senior researcher Pieter Wezeman said.
“But the transatlantic arms supply relationship has deep roots.
“Imports from the USA have risen and European Nato states have almost 500 combat aircraft and many other weapons still on order from the USA,” he added.
Countries including Italy and the United Kingdom have also bought US-made F35 fighter jets and Patriot anti-air defence systems, which are complex systems that are difficult to quickly substitute, Mr Wezeman told AFP.
“The F-35 is, of course, an American product but as part of (F-35) sales to European states… the industry in those states has also been involved in the production of key components,” the researcher said.
Countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark – which is currently embroiled in diplomatic tensions with the United States over Greenland’s future – are even more dependent on US weaponry, he explained.
Changing that “would require an enormous financial and political investment”, Mr Wezeman said.
“Arms procurement takes many years, and often it takes a lot more time than a US presidential term.”
Russian decline
This surge in imports has led Europe to become the largest weapons market for the United States for the first time in 20 years.
European states as a whole accounted for 35 per cent of US arms exports in 2020-24, putting them ahead of the Middle East, which accounted for 33 per cent.
In terms of individual countries, though, Saudia Arabia remained the single largest individual purchaser of US arms.
The US continues to dominate the world arms trade.
“At 43 per cent, its share of global arms exports is more than four times as much as the next-largest exporter, France,” Mr George said.
France meanwhile has tripled its exports to the rest of Europe compared to the 2015-19 period, mainly due to the sale of the Rafale fighter jet to Greece and Croatia and the supply weapons to Ukraine.
India accounts for the largest share of France’s exports with 28 per cent, almost twice as much as all other European states combined.
Russia is still the third largest arms exporter, despite seeing a massive 64-per cent decline in exports in the 2020-24 period compared to the previous five years.
In addition to prioritising its own needs, Russia has suffered from international sanctions, as well as pressure from the United States and its allies not to buy Russian weapons following the invasion of Ukraine.
For instance, India – which still accounted for 38 percent of Russian exports in 2020-24 – is increasingly turning to other countries.
Meanwhile China, which bought 17 per cent of Russian weapons exports, has bolstered its own defence industry.
In the Middle East, arms imports by Israel remained stable between 2015-19 and 2020-24, according to SIPRI.
However, the US – already the biggest provider of military aid to Israel (66 percent in 2020-24) – has been ramping up supplies of “major” weapons such as guided bombs since late 2023.
That has coincided with an intensification of Israel military operations in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, SIPRI said. AFP
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