Saudi arms imports rise by ‘unprecedented’ 54 percent
Saudi imports of arms rose 54 percent to $6.5 billion in 2014, while India imported $5.8 billion, according to data released by IHS.
The country’s imports, based on planned deliveries, will increase by an additional 52 percent to $9.8 billion this year, accounting for one out of every seven dollars spent on arms globally, IHS estimated.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) imported a total of $8.7 billion of weapons last year—more than the entire Western Europe, said the report.
Global Arms Trade
Global trade in military hardware rose for the sixth consecutive year in 2014, with worldwide imports exceeding $64.4 billion, up from $56 billion, or an increase of 13.4 percent.
The US was the biggest arms exporter, with shipments of $23.7 billion, a rise of 19 percent from 2013. Russia ranked second with $10 billion, up 9 percent. The big two were followed by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Israel, China, Spain and Canada.
United States was also the biggest exporter to the Middle East last year, with $8.4 billion of shipments, up from $6 billion in 2013.
“The second tier of exporters to the Middle East is led by the United Kingdom with $1.9 billion, the Russian Federation with $1.5 billion, France with $1.3 billion and Germany with $1 billion,” said the report.
Biggest Exporters [Companies]
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Airbus Group, UAC, Russian Helicopters, United Tech Corp, BAE Systems, Thales and Finmeccanica.
Biggest Importers
Saudi Arabia was followed by India, China, the UAE, Taiwan, Australia (!) , South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan.
[The biggest importers in 2013 were India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Egypt, Australia, and Singapore (!), according to IHS.]
Report notes: The IHS report was created using their Aerospace, Defence & Security Markets Forecast database, and covers the entire market except for munitions and small arms, said the writers. “Anything under 57mm caliber has not been included in this study. The study only tracked programs with a primarily military function, removing homeland security and Intelligence programs. Constant US dollars are used as the study’s base. For additional information visit: www.ihs.com/jmf “
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