According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), world sales of military products in 2012-2016 increased by 8.4% compared to the previous five-year plan. Humanity continues to arm itself, and the sale of military technology and equipment remains an important component of the export and economic potential of a number of countries. Which only confirms that in war not only kill, but also sell and earn. At the same time, the United States and Russia remain the main suppliers of weapons on the planet, occupying more than 58% of the entire world arms trade market in total.
SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) is an international peace and conflict research institute that primarily deals with arms control and disarmament issues. According to the specialists of this institute, the United States controls about a third of the entire world arms market, while almost half of all their supplies go to the states of the Middle East. Russia controls over 23% of the world market. According to the SIPRI Institute, about 70% of Russian supplies go to 4 countries: India, China, Vietnam and Algeria.
At the same time, according to the results of 2012-2016, Beijing managed to increase the share of supplied weapons on the international market from 3.8% to 6.2%. At the same time, India remains the world's largest importer of weapons on the planet, which during this period increased purchases in this area by 43% compared to 2007-2011. Saudi Arabia ranks second in terms of arms imports. It is worth noting that India is the largest buyer of Russian weapons in the world, and Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of US-made weapons.
In Africa, 46% of all imports of arms and military equipment come from Algeria (which is among the top 5 buyers of Russian weapons). Other large importers, according to Swedish researchers, are located in zones of long-standing armed conflicts: Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria. The African market is quite important for China, which supplies weapons of its own production to 18 African countries, while Tanzania closes the Top 5 countries that buy weapons in China.
In mid-April 2017, bigthink.com published an article about the four largest arms exporters in the world (USA, Russia, France and China). The material is based on data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute for 2011-2015. The article compares the world's largest arms exporters on the planet, as well as their largest buyers, and also presents graphic materials that reveal the direction of supplies. At the same time, the compilers of the maps did not take into account the countries that acquired weapons for less than $ 100 million during the specified period. Also, Swedish experts noted that in 2011-2015 the total volume of arms sales was higher than in any other five-year period since the end of the Cold War in the early 90s of the XX century.
Currently, the United States is not only the leader in terms of military spending ($ 611 billion in 2016), but also the main exporter of weapons on the planet. American weapons are sold the best in the world, with states ahead of other countries by a significant margin. In 2011-2015, the United States sold various weapons worth $ 46.4 billion, which is almost a third of the total volume of the international arms market (32.8%). Russia is immediately behind the United States, whose exports over the same period are estimated by SIPRI experts at $ 35.4 billion (or 25.4% of world exports). The indicators of the two largest world exporters of arms are individually higher than the total exports of the states occupying the third and fourth places in the rating: France with the volume of arms exports of $ 8.1 billion and the PRC with an indicator of $ 7.9 billion.
Over the same time period (2011-2015), India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia became the largest importers of weapons on the planet in descending order.
The largest buyers of American weapons
Arms supply flows make it possible to assess the geopolitical priorities of the largest exporting countries. So the geopolitical interests of the United States, most likely, lie in the Middle East. The five largest buyers of American arms and military equipment in descending order included: Saudi Arabia - $ 4.57 billion, the United Arab Emirates - $ 4.2 billion, Turkey - $ 3.1 billion, South Korea - $ 3.1 billion and Australia - 2.92 billion dollars. In general, the United States has sold weapons worth more than $ 100 million to 42 countries of the world, many of which are also in the Middle East.
The top 10 buyers of American weapons, in addition to the states listed above, include: Taiwan (Republic of China) - $ 2.83 billion, India - $ 2.76 billion, Singapore - $ 2.32 billion, Iraq - $ 2.1 billion, and Egypt - $ 1.6 billion
The largest buyers of Russian weapons
The bilateral relations that exist today between Russia and India are characterized by the largest indicators in the field of arms deliveries in the world. Over the five years from 2011 to 2015 inclusive, India acquired Russian-made weapons worth $ 13.4 billion. In second place in terms of purchases of Russian weapons is China, which itself is one of the largest arms exporters in the world. During the specified period, Beijing purchased weapons from Russia for $ 3.8 billion. In third place, with a slight lag, is Vietnam - $ 3, 7 billion, in fourth and fifth places, respectively, Algeria and Venezuela are located with indicators of $ 2, 64 and 1, 9 billion, respectively.
The Top 10 buyers of Russian weapons, in addition to the countries listed above, included: Azerbaijan - $ 1.8 billion, Syria - $ 983 million, Iraq - $ 853 million, Myanmar - $ 619 million and Uganda - $ 616 million. In general, in 2011-2015, Russia sold weapons worth more than $ 100 million to 24 countries of the world. Russia supplied weapons to the military-political rival of India, Pakistan, but these supplies are an order of magnitude less, only $ 134 million (23rd place in the rating), even Afghanistan, which is Pakistan's geographical neighbor, acquired many times more Russian weapons - by 441 million dollars (14th place in the ranking).
The largest buyers of French arms
While Russia is actively selling arms to Algeria, its neighbor and rival state, Morocco, arms are supplied by France, this North African country is the main buyer of French arms in the world. The five largest buyers of French arms and military equipment in descending order included: Morocco - $ 1.3 billion, China - $ 1 billion, Egypt - $ 759 million, the United Arab Emirates - $ 548 million and Saudi Arabia - $ 521 million. It can be noted that the interests of France, like that of the United States, gravitate towards the Middle East, where very large buyers of French weapons are concentrated.
The top 10 buyers of French weapons also included: Australia - $ 361 million, India - $ 337 million, the United States - $ 327 million, Oman - $ 245 million and the UK - $ 207 million. In total, for the specified period from 2011 to 2015 inclusive, France sold weapons worth more than $ 100 million to 17 countries of the world.
The largest buyers of Chinese weapons
If Russia is the largest supplier of weapons to India, then China is arming its neighboring countries: Pakistan, which is the largest buyer of Chinese-made military equipment, as well as Bangladesh and Myanmar. The five largest buyers of Chinese arms and military equipment in descending order included: Pakistan - $ 3 billion, Bangladesh - $ 1.4 billion, Myanmar - $ 971 million, Venezuela - $ 373 million, Tanzania - $ 323 million.
In general, in 2011-2015, China sold weapons worth more than $ 100 million to 10 countries of the world, so in addition to the above countries, the Top 10 buyers of Chinese weapons included: Algeria - $ 314 million, Indonesia - $ 237 million, Cameroon - $ 198 million, Sudan - $ 134 million and Iran - $ 112 million.
Based on the data presented, it is obvious that in the near future, the main rivalry in the international arms market for the third place in terms of supply will be between France and China. At the same time, the latter has every chance to take a solid third place in the very near future. At the same time, the United States and Russia will definitely retain their first and second places in the ranking, with a significant lead over their pursuers.
According to experts, the export of Russian weapons by the end of 2017 will significantly exceed the indicators of 2016. Viktor Kladov, who holds the post of Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy of the state corporation "Rostec" also the heads of the joint delegation of the state corporation and JSC Rosoboronexport at this exhibition. According to Kladov, Rosoboronexport's portfolio of orders is currently about $ 45 billion, which allows the Russian defense industry enterprises to work for three years of continuous operation, and the number of contracts in 2017 will exceed the number of contracts in 2016.
India will remain Russia's main buyer and partner. According to Viktor Kladov, in 2017 it is planned to sign a multi-billion dollar contract with India for the construction of four Project 11356 frigates according to the "2 + 2" formula (two frigates will be supplied by Russia, and two more will be built in India under license). “This contract depends on how quickly the negotiations, which are going on at the moment, are completed. In particular, a whole series of rather serious meetings with Indian partners has already taken place, if the negotiations go well, the contract will be signed in 2017, "Kladov said. It is noted that the Indian side is currently engaged in the selection of a suitable shipyard for the licensed production of part of the frigates. In addition, the Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy of Rostec spoke about the planned contract for the production of 200 light multipurpose Ka-226T helicopters in India. Also in 2017, it is planned to sign a major contract for the supply of 48 Mi-17V-5 multipurpose helicopters to India.
If we talk about other countries, then a very large contract is planned to be concluded with Indonesia. We are talking about the delivery of multifunctional Su-35 fighters to this country. The contract for the supply of fighters should be the first in a series of planned agreements with Indonesia for the supply of military products. According to Kladov, based on the available financial resources, the Indonesian side gives priority to the purchase of Su-35 fighters from Russia, then contracts for naval equipment will follow, and then for helicopters. He also added that Indonesia is showing increased interest in the unique Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft. The country is ready to purchase 2-3 such aircraft. At the same time, Indonesia is currently the closest state to the purchase of the Be-200 due to the constant need to fight forest fires.
