2024 was a year marked by unrest in various parts of the world. The Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict escalated, while unrest in Bangladesh led to the fleeing of Sheikh Hasina. The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia continued, and tensions in Gaza, Pakistan, and Israel further intensified. Israel’s attacks on Syria and Lebanon added to the global instability. Well, what is left after the war? Only ruins and remains. Wars across the world, from the Gulf countries to Russia, are affecting countries in different ways; however, only one country turns out to be the biggest beneficiary. Well, it is the United States.
Well, this is evident from the sales figures of U.S. weapons during the last year of the Biden administration. As per a recent report by the U.S. State Department on global defense deals, the U.S. made agreements worth Rs 27.57 lakh crore in 2024, a 29% rise compared to the previous year.
Amid global conflicts, this country earns massive profits by selling…..; can purchase several nation
In 2024, U.S. companies sold defense equipment worth Rs 17.37 lakh crore in direct deals, a significant rise from Rs 13.63 lakh crore in 2023. Additionally, government-to-government defense agreements reached Rs 10.20 lakh crore, marking a 45.7% increase compared to the Rs 7 lakh crore in deals made in 2023.
The defense deals amounting to Rs 10.20 lakh crore between the U.S. and other governments included Rs 8.38 lakh crore worth of weapon sales, Rs 1.02 lakh crore in financial aid to help allied nations purchase weapons, and Rs 79,000 crore to boost the capabilities of partner countries.
As per a report by News18 Hindi, the major defense deals between governments in 2024 included Turkey purchasing F-16 fighter jets worth Rs 1.99 lakh crore, Israel acquiring F-15 fighter jets for Rs 1.62 lakh crore, and Romania securing F-35 fighter jets and M1A2 Abrams tanks for Rs 62,000 crore and Rs 21,000 crore, respectively. Germany bought advanced Patriot air defense missiles for Rs 43,000 crore, Japan acquired KC-46A air refueling aircraft and Tomahawk weapon systems for Rs 34,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore, respectively. India purchased MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones worth Rs 34,000 crore, South Korea invested in Apache attack helicopters for Rs 30,000 crore, and Spain secured advanced Patriot air defense systems for Rs 24,000 crore.
Saudi Arabia made a deal for system logistics support valued at Rs 21,000 crore, Bahrain bought M1A2 Abrams tanks for Rs 19,040 crore, and Greece acquired UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Rs 16,876 crore. Additionally, Norway purchased AIM-120C-8 medium-range air-to-air missiles for Rs 16,792 crore, while Poland acquired AGM-158B-2 and AIM-120C-8 missiles for Rs 15,321 crore and Rs 11,035 crore, respectively.
According to the press release of the US Department of State, In FY2024, the total value of transferred defense articles and services and security cooperation activities conducted under the Foreign Military Sales system was $117.9 billion. This represents a 45.7% increase, up from $80.9 billion in FY2023. This is the highest ever annual total of sales and assistance provided to our allies and partners. In FY2024, we oversaw 16,227 FMS cases with an open case value of over $845 billion.
“The $117.9 billion figure for the FY2024 includes $96.9 billion in arms sales funded by U.S. allies and partner nations; $11.8 billion funded through the Title 22 Foreign Military Financing program; and $9.2 billion funded through Department of Defense Building Partner Capacity programs and certain Department of State programs funded under the Foreign Assistance Act,” reads the statement. Examples of government-to-government FMS sales notified to Congress in FY2024 include:
- Türkiye – F-16 Aircraft Acquisition and Modernization ($23.0 billion)
- Israel – F-15IA and F-15I+ Aircraft ($18.8 billion)
- Romania – F-35 Aircraft ($7.2 billion)
- Germany – PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement Missiles ($5.0 billion)
- Japan – KC-46A Aerial Refueling Aircraft ($4.1 billion)
- India – MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft ($4.0 billion)
- Republic of Korea – AH-64E Apache Helicopters ($3.5 billion)
- Spain – PATRIOT Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units ($2.8 billion)
- Saudi Arabia – System Logistics and Sustainment Support ($2.8 billion)
- Romania – M1A2 Abrams Main Battle ($2.5 billion)
- Japan – Tomahawk Weapon System ($2.4 billion)
- Bahrain – M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks ($2.2 billion)
- Australia – AUKUS-related Training and Training Devices ($2.0 billion)
- Greece – UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters ($1.95 billion)
- Norway – AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles ($1.94 billion)
- Poland – AGM-158B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile with Extended Range ($1.77 billion)
- Poland – AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles ($1.69 billion) Poland –
- Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles – Extended Range ($1.275 billion)
- Poland – Airspace and Surface Radar Reconnaissance ($1.2 billion)
- Austria – UH-60M Blackhawk Helicopters ($1.05 billion)
- Saudia Arabia – Blanket Order Training ($1 billion)
Arms transfers and defense trade are important U.S. foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security. “For this reason, the United States follows a holistic approach when reviewing arms transfer decisions, in accordance with the U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, and weighs political, social, human rights, civilian protection, economic, military, nonproliferation, technology security, and end use factors to determine the appropriate provision of military equipment and the licensing of direct commercial sales of defense articles to U.S. allies and partners,” the State Department said on January 24, 2025.
The United States, the world’s largest arms supplier, saw a 17% increase in its weapon exports between 2014-18 and 2019-23, while Russia experienced a decline of over 53%. France’s arms exports grew by 47%, surpassing Russia to become the second-largest arms supplier in the world. The breakdown of the global arms export share is as follows:
- United States: 41.7%
- France: 10.9%
- Russia: 10.5%
- China: 5.8%
- Germany: 5.6%
- Italy: 4.3%
- United Kingdom: 3.7%
- Spain: 2.7%
The total authorized value for privately contracted Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) authorizations for FY2024 was $200.8 billion, which includes the value of hardware, services, and technical data authorized from exports, temporary imports, reexports, retransfers, and brokering. This represents a 27.5% increase, up from $157.5 billion in FY2023.
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