The share that Türkiye holds in global arms exports more than doubled in the past five years, according to a report released by a leading conflict think tank on Monday, a period that has been characterized by escalating security challenges that have driven a significant transformation in defense strategies.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) showed Türkiye’s share of global arms exports increased by 103% from 0.8% in 2015-2019 to 1.7% in 2020-2024. That makes Türkiye the 11th largest arms exporter globally.
Türkiye has injected billions of dollars over the past two decades, which has helped it transform from a nation heavily reliant on equipment from abroad to one that is a major exporter and where homegrown systems now meet almost all of its defense industry needs.
Overall, global arms transfers were roughly at the same level in the 2020-2024 period as in the previous five years, the SIPRI data showed. The volume of international transfers of large arms in 2020-2024 decreased by 0.6% compared to the 2015-2019 period, according to SIPRI.
The SIPRI data refer to the volume of arms deliveries rather than their financial value. Since this volume can fluctuate greatly from year to year, the researchers compare five-year periods, in this case 2020-24 with 2015-19.
Data showed the United States continued to dominate the global stage, with U.S. companies increasing their share of global arms exports to 43% in 2020-24, from 35% in the 2015-2019 period.
U.S. arms exports amounted to about the same share of the global market as the next eight countries combined.
France was the second largest, accounting for 9.6%. Russian arms exports dropped to 7.8% of the global market in the 2020-24 period, compared to 21% in the previous four-year period, as a result of international sanctions over the war in Ukraine and increased domestic demand for weapons.
China's share fell from 6.2% to 5.9%, while Germany's share slipped from 5.7% to 5.6%.
In Türkiye, the two-decade investment drive prompted the development of a range of homegrown air, land and marine platforms, which eventually helped Türkiye seal billions of dollars worth of export deals.
In the last five-year period, Türkiye exported 18% of its arms to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 10% to Pakistan and 9.9% to Qatar, according to the SIPRI report.
The data showed Türkiye managed to reduce its arms imports by 33% in 2020-2024 compared to the 2015-2019 period.
The country's share of arms imports, which stood at 1.7% in the 2015-2019 period, dropped to 1.1% in the last five years, making it the 22nd biggest importer in the world.
The countries exporting the most arms to Türkiye were Spain with 34% share, Italy with 24% and Germany with 19%.
European arms imports rose 155% in 2020-24 and Ukraine has become the world's biggest arms importer following Russia's 2022 invasion, according to the report. The continent accounted for 28% of global arms imports, up from 11% between 2015 and 2019, SIPRI said.
Ukraine alone accounted for 8.8% of global arms imports, and just under half of those imports were from the U.S., which under President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Kyiv. India ranked second with 8.3% share, followed by Qatar with 6.8%, Saudi Arabia with 6.8% and Pakistan with 4.6%.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Kremlin and the White House have said missteps could trigger World War III.
The war has underlined Europe's dependence on U.S. arms, although the trans-Atlantic alliance, the foundation of Europe's security strategy since World War II, is increasingly being questioned.
The U.S. supplied more than 50% of Europe's arms imports from 2020-24, with Britain, the Netherlands and Norway among the top buyers, the SIPRI data showed.
The surge in imports has led Europe to become the largest weapons market for the United States for the first time in 20 years.
European states as a whole accounted for 35% of US arms exports in 2020-24, putting them ahead of the Middle East, which accounted for 33%. In terms of individual countries, though, Saudi Arabia remained the single largest individual purchaser of U.S. arms.
The SIPRI researchers currently see uncertainties in U.S. foreign policy as one of the main drivers of moves by European countries to increase defense expenditure.
European leaders last Thursday backed plans to spend more on defense following Trump's reversal of U.S. policies.
"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," said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Program.
"But the transatlantic arms-supply relationship has deep roots. Imports from the U.S. have risen and European NATO states have almost 500 combat aircraft and many other weapons still on order from the U.S."
Asia and Oceania's arms imports dropped 21%, mainly because of China producing more of its own weapons.
In the Middle East, arms imports by Israel remained stable between 2015-19 and 2020-24, according to SIPRI.
However, the U.S. – already the biggest arms provider to Israel (66% in 2020-24) – has been ramping up supplies of "major" weapons such as guided bombs since late 2023.
That has coincided with an intensification of Israel's genocidal military campaign in Gaza, as well as its attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran.
