According to Reuters reported on March 15, local time on Monday, Sweden's Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report that compared with the previous five years, international arms sales remained stable between 2016 and 2020, ending a growth trend of more than 10 years.
SIPRI said the three world's largest arms exporters, the United States, France and Germany, increased arms sales. This is the first period since 2001-2005 in which the volume of inter-State sales of major weapons (a production indicator) has not increased compared with the previous five years. Arms imports and exports remain close to their highest level since the end of the Cold War, although this level may have been affected by the pandemic.
SIPRI said that while the pandemic has brought economies around the world to a standstill and many countries have been forced into severe recessions, it is too early to judge whether the slowdown in arms supply will continue.
Pieter Wezeman, senior fellow in the institute's Arms and Military Spending Program, said in a statement: "The economic impact of COVID-19 is likely to prompt some countries to reassess their arms imports in the coming years. At the same time, however, even at the height of the pandemic in 2020, some countries have signed up on some major weapons orders. ”
The United States remains the largest arms exporter, supplying arms to 96 countries around the world and increasing its share of global arms exports to 37 percent over those five years. For example, the United Arab Emirates recently signed an agreement with the United States to buy 50 F-35 fighter jets and 18 armed drones as part of a $23 billion plan.
Nearly half (47 percent) of U.S. arms exports go to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for 24 percent of total U.S. arms exports. France's main arms exports grew by 44 percent, while Germany's exports rose by 21 percent. Both Israel and South Korea saw significant increases in exports. However, the scale of arms exports between the two countries is still relatively small.
Middle Eastern countries saw the largest increase in arms imports, up 25 percent from 2016-2020 compared to 2011-2015. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest arms importer, saw a 61 percent increase in arms imports, Qatar by 361 percent and Egypt by 136 percent. Asia and Oceania are the largest importers of major weapons, receiving 42% of global arms transfers in 2016-2020. Countries such as India, Australia, South Korea and Pakistan are the largest importers in the region.
Russia's arms exports fell by 22 percent, most of which was due to a 53 percent drop in arms exports to India. Alexandra Kuymova, a researcher at the institute, said: "Although Russia has recently signed new large arms agreements with several countries and its export volume may gradually increase in the coming years, it faces fierce competition from the United States in most regions. ”
According to the U.S. "Modern Diplomacy" website, SIPRI data released last December showed that arms sales at the world's 25 largest defense equipment and military services companies totaled $361 billion in 2019. Real arms sales increased by 8.5 percent compared to 2018.
In 2019, the top five international arms companies were all located in the United States: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics. The combined annual sales of these five companies reached $166 billion. There were a total of 12 U.S. companies in the top 25 in 2019, accounting for 61% of total sales.
Text/GH