European arms imports increase 155% in 4 years - US companies dominate global exports
European arms imports increased by 155% in the period 2020-2024 and Ukraine has become the world's largest arms importer since Russia's invasion in 2022.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed that the United States continued to dominate the global scene, with American companies increasing their share of global arms exports to 43% in 2020-24, from 35% in 2015-2019. US arms exports achieved almost the same share of the global market as the next eight countries combined.
Europe as a whole accounted for 28% of global arms imports in 2020-24, up from 11% between 2015 and 2019. Ukraine alone accounted for 8.8% of global arms imports in the past four years, and just under half of these imports were from the US, which under President Donald Trump has cut off military aid to Kiev.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Kremlin and the White House have said that missteps could trigger World War III.
The war has highlighted Europe's dependence on US weapons, and the transatlantic alliance, the foundation of Europe's security since World War II, is increasingly being called into question.
The US supplied more than 50% of Europe's arms imports from 2020-2024, with Britain, the Netherlands and Norway among the main buyers, the data showed.
European leaders last week backed plans to spend more on defense following policy changes by the Trump administration.
But the transatlantic arms supply relationship has deep roots. Imports from the US have increased and European NATO states have ordered almost 500 fighter jets and many other American weapons.
Russian arms exports fell to 7.8% of the global market in 2020-24, compared with 21% in the previous four-year period, as a result of international sanctions over the war in Ukraine and rising domestic demand. Meanwhile, Asia and Oceania's arms imports fell by 21%, mainly due to more arms production by China.
Overall, global arms transfers were roughly at the same level in the 2020-2024 period as in the previous four years, according to the Institute's data.
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