As the number-one exporter of major arms world-wide, the United States is extracting ever-increasing profits from the global rise in war and military escalation, a new study by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) finds.
Between 2010 and 2014, global conventional weapons transfers jumped 16 percent as compared to 2005-2009, the researchers found.
The U.S. alone accounted for 31 percent of international weapons exports from 2010 to 2014. During this time the U.S. was the world’s top supplier, delivering “major weapons to at least 94 recipients,” the study finds.
Researchers note that American weapons exporters are casting a wide net that reaches far beyond the U.S. military.
“The [U.S.] has long seen arms exports as a major foreign policy and security tool, but in recent years exports are increasingly needed to help the U.S. arms industry maintain production levels at a time of decreasing U.S. military expenditure,” said Dr. Aude Fleurant, director of the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Program,” in a press statement.
As conflict and tensions sweep the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, these markets are booming.
The Asia Pacific region was the top importer of U.S. arms between from 2010 to 2014, followed by the Middle East and then Europe. In each of these regions, U.S. shipments accounted for a significant proportion of national imports.