European NATO States Still Depend on US Arms Imports, SIPRI Says

A HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system during military exercises in Latvia.Photographer: Gints Ivuskans/Getty Images
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The US accounted for the majority of arms imports by European NATO states in the last four years, a Swedish research group found, highlighting their dependence at a time when transatlantic relations are fraying.

Some 64% of arms imported by NATO countries in Europe came from the US over the period, compared with 52% between 2015 and 2019, according to the SIPRI Institute in Stockholm. The US had a 43% share of global arms exports in 2020–24, making it by far the largest supplier ahead of France and Russia.