European members of the NATO alliance, led by the United States, increased their arms imports by 65 per cent over the previous five years

In the five years to 2022, European countries increased their imports of major weaponry by 47 per cent, while the United States increased its share of global arms exports to 40 per cent from 33 per cent, according to a leading conflict think-tank on Monday.

Following years of rising tensions, Russia invaded Ukraine last year, prompting European countries to rush to shore up their defences.

“Even as global arms transfers have decreased, those to Europe have increased sharply due to tensions between Russia and most other European states,” said Pieter D Wezeman, Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Major arms are defined by SIPRI as aircraft, warships, tanks, artillery, missiles and various heavy defence systems.

European members of the NATO alliance, led by the United States, increased their arms imports by 65 per cent over the previous five years. According to SIPRI, international arms transfers fell 5.1 per cent globally.

For the past three decades, the United States and Russia have been the world's largest and second-largest arms exporters, respectively.

From 2013 to 2017, the United States increased its arms exports by 14 per cent, accounting for 40 per cent of global arms exports. Russia's share fell from 22 per cent to 16 per cent.

“It is likely that Russia's arms exports will be further restricted as a result of the invasion of Ukraine and this is because Russia will prioritise supplying its armed forces, while demand from other countries will remain low due to Russia's trade sanctions,” said SIPRI's Siemon T Wezeman.

SIPRI issued a warning in 2022 that the global nuclear arsenal was likely to grow in the coming years.