NATO Member States supply over 63% of global arms exports

Four NATO nations among the top five suppliers – US, Russia, Germany, France and UK – of major conventional weapons in the period 2005–2009
 
Over the last five years, NATO Member States have continued, alongside Russia, to be the main suppliers of arms exports, according to figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) this week.
 
The volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons for the period 2005–2009 is 22% higher than for the period 2000–2004. The USA and Russia remained by far the largest exporters, accounting for 30% and 23% of all exports, respectively.
 
However, the volume of Germany’s arms exports increased by over 100% in 2005–2009 compared to the previous five years and its share of the global arms market rose from six to 11%, SIPRI calculates. Armoured vehicles accounted for 27 percent of German arms exports in 2005–2009, with over 1,700 armoured vehicles exported to 21 destinations, mainly in Europe. Over 1,100 of these armoured vehicles were second-hand, including 220 Leopard 1A5s for Brazil, 140 Leopard 2A4s for Chile and 40 Leopard 2A4s for Singapore.
 
French arms exports rose by 30% over the same period, putting France in fourth place, and British arms exports actually fell by 13%, ranking the UK the world's fifth largest arms exporter. The Netherlands is not far behind, in sixth place, accounting for four per cent of arms exports.
 
What SIPRI found most worrying was the increase in international transfers of combat aircraft to the following regions of tension: the Middle East, North Africa, South America, South Asia and South East Asia. The institute said the volume of weapons traded to India and Pakistan had "increased significantly" in the last few years and was expected to continue. In South America, it went up 150% in the last five years.
 
NATO Watch director Ian Davis said, “It would be easy for NATO to stand back and say that these latest figures reflect a combination of the defence market and national exporting practices – both of which fall outside of the Alliance’s remit. But since NATO claims to attach great importance to conventional arms control the Alliance could provide an essential consultative forum for its members to explore ways to prevent destabilising arms transfers to regions of tension”.