Indian Air Force’s six Rafale jets fly during the Republic Day parade on January 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Ukraine, involved in a war with Russia for the past four years, was the largest importer of major arms in the world in the 2020-24 period, clocking a nearly hundredfold rise in imports compared with the figures in 2015–19.
India was the second-largest arms importer in the world, though the figure decreased by 9.3% between 2015-19 and 2020-24, according to latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The country was the biggest arms export destination for both Russia and France, though the volume with Moscow has significantly reduced.
China dropped out of the list of top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1990-94, showcasing its expanding domestic industrial base
The largest share of Indian arms imports (36%) came from Russia, a significantly smaller share than in 2015-19 (55%) and 2010-14 (72%), the report noted.
Pakistan imports
“Arms imports by Pakistan grew by 61% between 2015-19 and 2020-24. China became even more dominant as its supplier, accounting for 81% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2020-24, compared with 74% in 2015–19,” the report released by SIPRI on Monday (March 10, 2025) said.
While, European arms imports overall grew by 155% between the same periods as the continent rearms itself, the U.S. further increased its share of global arms exports to 43%, while Russia’s exports fell by 64%, accounting for 7.8% of global arms exports, falling behind France (9.6%), which emerged the second largest arms exporter in 2020-24.
Four countries in Asia and Oceania — India, Pakistan, Japan, and Australia— ranked among the 10 largest arms importers globally in 2020-24.
Russia delivered major arms to 33 countries in 2020-24, of which two-thirds went to three countries — India (38%), China (17%), and Kazakhstan (11%).
French exports
At the same time, France exported arms to 65 countries, and exports of major arms to other European countries almost trebled between 2015–19 and 2020–24 (+187%), according to SIPRI. “This was mainly due to deliveries of combat aircraft to Greece and Croatia, and arms supplies to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.”
Nevertheless, India received by far the largest share of French arms exports (28%) — almost twice the share that went to all European recipients combined (15%).
The second largest recipient of major arms from France was Qatar (9.7%).
India has inked contracts for some major military platforms from France, including 36 Rafale fighter jets and six Scorpene-class conventional submarines, and has more mega deals lined up. Deals for 26 Rafale-M jets and three submarines are set to be concluded very soon.
The overall volume of arms transfers globally remained at roughly the same level as in 2015-19 and 2010-14 (but was 18% higher than in 2005–2009), as increasing imports in Europe and the Americas were offset by decreases in other regions, data show.
Italy, with 4.8% share of arms sales, jumped from 10th to sixth place on the exporters list.
The report stated that at least 35 countries sent weapons to Ukraine since the war began in 2022, and substantial number of deliveries are in the pipeline. The country received 8.8% of global arms imports in 2020-24.
“Most of the major arms supplied to Ukraine came from the USA (45%), followed by Germany (12%), and Poland (11%). Ukraine was the only European state among the top 10 importers in 2020–24, although many other European states significantly increased their arms imports in the period.”
“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, programme director at SIPRI. However, some major arms importers, including Saudi Arabia, India, and China, saw large declines in import volumes for a variety of reasons, despite high threat perceptions in their regions, he added.
Published – March 10, 2025 09:09 pm IST