Arms deliveries to Europe have increased significantly against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. Imports of heavy weapons such as tanks, fighter jets and submarines into European countries increased by 2013 percent between the study periods 2017 to 2018 and 2022 to 47, the Stockholm-based peace research institute SIPRI announced on Monday. The NATO countries imported 65 percent more weapons. By contrast, the volume of arms deliveries fell by 5.1 percent worldwide.

Claudia Bothe

Volunteer

  • Follow I follow

"After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European states want to import more weapons – and faster," said SIPRI researcher Pieter Wezeman. Accordingly, the growing demand from many European countries is likely to further increase the import figures of heavy weapons in the coming years. Ukraine has become the third largest arms importer, behind Qatar and India, as a result of the Russian invasion last year. Previously, the country ranked 14th.

"Before 2022, there were hardly any arms deliveries to Ukraine. They were at a very low level – especially considering its size and the fact that it has been at war since 2014," Wezeman said. The majority (35 percent) of weapons to Ukraine in 2022 were supplied by the United States, followed by Poland (17 percent). With 11 percent, Germany is Ukraine's third most important arms supplier.

Russia needs its weapons for its own armed forces

For decades, the most important exporters of heavy weapons have been the United States and Russia, followed by France, China and Germany. While the export volume of the United States increased by 14 percent compared to five years, deliveries from Russia fell by 31 percent. The institute explained the decline by saying that Russia needed its armaments for its own armed forces and that the sanctions made arms exports more difficult. With an increase of 44 percent, France ranks third among the world's arms deliveries. The researchers believe it is possible that France could soon overtake Russia as an arms supplier.

Germany exported 35 percent fewer weapons during the same period. The largest buyers of German armaments are above all countries in the Middle East. In the past, there have been delays in German arms deliveries to Turkey or Israel, for example, which is reflected in fluctuations in export volumes. "We have seen such fluctuations in Germany before. This is often due to a relatively small number of larger orders for naval equipment, especially submarines and frigates," Wezeman said. However, he considers it likely that German arms exports could rise again in the future.

In contrast to Europe, other continents are experiencing a decline in arms imports. China purchased 23 percent fewer weapons. The reason for this is that China is increasingly producing armaments in its own country. In Africa, arms imports fell by 40 percent, in North and South America by 21 percent, in Asia and Oceania by 7.5 percent. The researchers estimate the sum of all weapons traded annually at about 100 billion dollars (93.8 billion euros).

The research institute's study compares five-year periods in order to be able to map a long-term global trend despite frequent fluctuations in arms transfers from year to year. Due to the impact of the war in Ukraine on the arms market, they made an exception and additionally considered the year 2022.