French arms exports hit second all-time record in 2024
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In 2022, French arms exports reached a new high of 27 billion euros.
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Military equipment is displayed at the Eurosatory defense and security trade show in Villepinte, outside Paris on June 10, 2018. (AP)
The French government has reported that the value of French arms exports surpassed 18 billion euros last year, making 2024 the country's second-best year on record.
According to AFP, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu indicated on Tuesday that around 10 billion euros of this sum were allocated to significant systems such as Rafale fighter planes and submarines.
Notably, 12 Rafale planes were delivered to Serbia, while Indonesia officially completed the delivery of the final batch of 18 out of a total of 42 jets bought two years ago.
On September 30, Naval Group revealed it had sold four Barracuda-class submarines to the Netherlands. While the contract value was not disclosed, the Dutch State Secretary for Defense at the time, Christophe van der Maat, noted that the project's budget was set at 5.6 billion euros.
In 2022, French arms exports reached a new high of 27 billion euros, owing partly to a contract with the United Arab Emirates for 80 Rafale aircraft for slightly more than 16 billion euros.
Meanwhile, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports that worldwide military spending increased by the most in a decade in 2023, hitting $2.4 trillion owing to continuous wars.
In March, SIPRI reported that US arms exports surged by 17% between the periods of 2014-18 and 2019-23, with its share of total global arms exports rising from 34% to 42%.
Matthew George, Director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, pointed out that this growth aligns with the US foreign policy objectives amid increasing challenges to its economic and geopolitical dominance.
France has emerged as a notable player in the arms trade, with a remarkable 47% increase in its exports between 2014-18 and 2019-23. Surpassing Russia for the first time, France became the world's second-largest arms exporter. Katarina Djokic, a researcher at SIPRI, highlighted France's success in leveraging global demand, particularly in combat aircraft sales.
In stark contrast, Russian arms exports plummeted by 53% during the same period. This rapid decline is marked by a decrease in exports to only 12 states in 2023 compared to 31 in 2019.
