William Molinié / Photo credits: Arthur Nicholas Orchard / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
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8:05 a.m., March 12, 2024
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has revealed the ranking of the biggest arms sellers and France has overtaken Russia for the first time in its history. SIPRI compares two five-year periods: 2013-2017 and 2018-2022. Paris now ranks second, behind Washington and ahead of Moscow. One reason: the decline in Russian exports.
In five years, Russian arms exports have fallen by 55%. In 2019, Moscow sold weapons to 31 countries. Last year, only 12 of them placed orders with the Russians. But the war in Ukraine shook up this ranking.
France increases its exports by 47%
Conversely, France saw its exports increase by 47% according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This French performance is explained by the delivery of Rafale fighter jets to India, Qatar and Egypt. A trend which should continue in the years to come since other countries have placed orders: the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Greece.
The Caesar cannons, already at work on the battlefield in Ukraine, should also do well exported. For their part, the United States remains unbeatable with exports which have increased by another 7%. More than one in two weapons sold worldwide is American-made. As for China, it remains in fourth place, followed by Germany whose sales fell by 14%.