UK's sun sets in global arms market as France set to take over Russia as 2nd biggest arms supplier after US

Paris: In a report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), on Monday, revealed France is on the verge of taking over Russia as the second-largest exporter of weapons to the world after the United States. Meanwhile, Britain is fast losing its market share in the global arms business. The report predicted that within ten years, French suppliers may outperform their Russian competitors owing to the sharp rise in recent sales and prospective orders of arms to nations across Asia, Oceania, and West Asia. From 7.1% in 2013–17 to 11% in 2018–22, France saw a 44% rise in its share of the world’s exports of defence goods. The largest clients were Egypt, Qatar, and India. At the same time, Russia’s percentage of global weapons exports decreased by 31%, from 22% in the five years prior to 2017 to 16% in the subsequent five years. What went wrong with Russia? According to the report, sales to China and Egypt, two of Russia’s largest markets, were under pressure during the past three years, which caused the decline in exports. Along with rising Chinese self-sufficiency, Russia’s near-pariah status among some nations prior to and after its full invasion of Ukraine in February of last year appears to have been a significant drag on exports. The authors of the Sipri report, titled Trends in International Arms Transfers, state that it is likely that order quantities from these Egypt and China will decrease in the upcoming years. “Egypt, for instance, cancelled a sizable order for combat planes in 2022, likely as a result of pressure from the US, and China is less dependent on imports of Russian major arms as it increases domestic production of such weapons,” said the report. According to the study, since 1992, combat aircraft and combat helicopters have been among Russia’s top weapons exports. In 2018–22, it shipped 328 of these, making up 40% of all Russian weapons exports during that time. “By the end of 2022, it had only 84 combat planes and combat helicopters scheduled for delivery. As it is likely to prioritise producing weapons for its own military over those for sale, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will likely place additional restrictions on its ability to export arms. For at least three decades, Russia has been the second-largest exporter of weapons in the world, with the selling of combat helicopters and aircraft serving as the backbone of its defence sector. According to Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at Sipri and co-author of the report, France could advance due to its proactive state policy of expanding its defence industry as well as the results of western diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. Wezeman stated: “Deliveries of weapons have sharply increased out of France. Meanwhile, the French government’s support for the arms industry has enabled it to close more sizable weapons export contracts, with deliveries anticipated in the upcoming years,” he said. France has significantly more major arms on order for sale than Russia, which raises the possibility that French arms exports will be on par with or even surpass those of Russia in the upcoming ten years. Where does UK stand? The UK’s defence industry has recently struggled to reach agreements with important partners like Saudi Arabia, which has resulted in a 35% decrease in weapons exports and a 4.7% drop in the country’s global share from 2013 to 2017 to just 3.2% in 2018–22. Wezeman stated: “Prior to 2018–2022, Saudi Arabia had been the largest customer of UK arms, but there are presently very few Saudi orders for major arms from the UK. “An order for 48 Typhoon combat aircraft was still being discussed in 2020, but it appears that the transaction stalled in the years that followed. Over seven in ten (76%) of all arms exports come from the US, Russia, France, China, and Germany, which are also the top five defence producers. US’s dominance Report says, US continues to expand its position as the global superpower in the selling of arms. In 2013–17 and 2018–22, its exports increased by 14%, and its percentage of all international weapons exports increased from 33% to 40%. Only 41% of those sales went to the Middle East, but in the previous five years, the US provided major weapons to 103 states, which is almost as many as the next two biggest exporters combined. Ukraine: Largest importer of Arms In 2018–22, Ukraine grew to be a significant weapons importer. It was the world’s third-largest importer of arms during that time span and ranked 14th overall. India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, and China were the top five countries importing weapons between 2018 and 22. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.