PARIS — United States arms exports to Europe have more than tripled on aid for Ukraine and as European countries boosted weapons buying in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Shipments of U.S. weapons to Europe rose 233% in the 2020-2024 time frame from the prior five-year period, according to a March 10 report by the Swedish think tank. For the first time in two decades, Europe accounted for the largest share of U.S. arms exports, SIPRI said.
Russia’s aggression has caused upheaval in the international arms market, with the U.S. solidifying its position as the world’s largest weapons exporter, as European countries multiplied orders to rebuild hollowed-out armed forces.
Meanwhile, Russian arms exports have plunged.
“The new arms transfers figures clearly reflect the rearmament taking place among states in Europe in response to the threat from Russia,” said Mathew George, program director with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.
European NATO members more than doubled their arms imports between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024, with the U.S. supplying 64% of those imports in the most recent period, compared with 52% in the prior five years, according to the report. France and South Korea were the other two main suppliers to European NATO members, each accounting for 6.5% of imports.
Europe accounted for 35% of U.S. arms exports, overtaking the Middle East, even if Saudi Arabia remained the largest single recipient of U.S. weapons.
“The USA is in a unique position when it comes to arms exports,” George said. “The USA continues to be the supplier of choice for advanced long-range strike capabilities like combat aircraft.” European NATO countries had 472 combat aircraft on order from the U.S. by the end of 2024, according to SIPRI.
The U.S. accounted for 43% of global arms exports, with Saudi Arabia accounting for a 12% share, followed by Ukraine and Japan as the biggest recipients. The U.S. is the main supplier of long-range land attack missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers, accounting for 45% of exports in that category.
Ukraine, the U.K., the Netherlands and Norway were among the ten largest recipients of American arms in the five years through 2024. Ukraine accounted for 26% of U.S. exports to Europe, and 71% of those transfers were second-hand arms taken from stocks for quick delivery, according to SIPRI.
An increasingly belligerent Russia and stress on transatlantic relations during the first presidency of Donald Trump means European NATO states have taken steps to reduce their dependency on arms imports, according to Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.
Of more than $180 billion in defense equipment contracts signed by European NATO countries between February 2022 and September 2024, at least 52% was spent on European systems and 34% on U.S. systems, according to estimates by the International Institute for Strategic Studies published in October.
France was the second-biggest exporter in the 2020-2024 period, with a 9.6% share of global arms shipments, led by India, Qatar and Egypt, all buyers of the country’s Rafale fighter jet.
Russia ranked third in weapon exports in 2020-2024, with India, China and Kazakhstan its biggest customers. The country accounted for 7.8% of global arms exports in the period, a little over one-third of the share it held in the five years through to 2019.
“The war against Ukraine has further accelerated the drop in Russia’s arms exports because more weapons are needed on the battlefield, trade sanctions make it harder for Russia to produce and sell its weapons, and the USA and its allies pressure states not to buy Russian arms,” said Wezeman.
The U.S. had outstanding orders for 996 combat aircraft for delivery after 2024, followed by France with 214 aircraft, South Korea with 140 and Russia with 71 combat aircraft, according to SIPRI. The researchers said order data can give “a rough indication” of which countries will be the top exporters in coming years, with combat aircraft and major warships particularly telling due to their high value.
The U.K., the fifth-biggest arms exporter in the period, has 29 major warships on order, followed by Germany with 26 and France with 22 warships, according to the SIPRI data.
Ukraine became the largest weapons importer in the 2020-2024 period. The U.S. accounted for 45% of arms shipped to the country, followed by Germany with 12% and Poland with 11%.
India was the second-biggest importer in the most recent period, with Russia and France its biggest suppliers, with Qatar the third-largest buyer in the international weapons market, and with the U.S. its biggest supplier.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
