European arms imports soared in past four years SIPRI think tank says

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 with 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 with 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