US arms export growth was driven by countries seeking to replenish weapons stocks that were donated to Ukraine.
The sale of United States military equipment to foreign governments in 2024 surged 29 percent to a record $318.7bn, the US State Department said, a figure that includes the sale of jet fighters worth $18.8bn to Israel despite the country facing allegations of genocide in Gaza.
US weapons sales figures from the Biden administration’s final year were released on Friday, coming amid rising global instability and regional tensions.
Direct military sales by US companies rose to $200.8bn in fiscal 2024 up from $157.5bn in 2023, while sales arranged through the US government rose to $117.9 bn in 2024 over $80.9bn the prior year.
The State Department said in a statement that arms sales and transfers are viewed as “important US foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security”.
Sales approved in 2024 included but were not limited to $23bn in F-16 jets and aircraft upgrades to Turkiye’s military, $18.8bn worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, and $2.5bn in sales of M1A2 Abrams tanks to Romania.
The State Department said the US takes a “holistic approach” to arms sales and “weighs political, social, human rights, civilian protection” among many factors – including economic and military – when determining “the appropriate provision of military equipment” to allies and partners.
However, US investigative journalism organisation ProPublica has reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ignored explicit warnings about Israeli human rights violations amid the war on Gaza and continued to approve arms transfers to the country in violation of US law.
More than 47,200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, and images record the devastation as entire cities within the enclave have been turned to rubble using bombs, missiles, warplanes and other weaponry supplied by the US.
Human rights groups, UN experts and even former US government officials have accused the Biden administration of knowingly funding Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza.
In November 2024, Human Rights Watch released a detailed report outlining how Israel had engaged in a deliberate effort to permanently prevent Palestinians from returning to large parts of Gaza.
US defence contractors are straining to meet the surge of demand for weapons that has mushroomed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ministries of defence globally have been lining up to submit orders to boost their inventories with US weapons, while the US is seeking to replenish its own stockpiles after weaponry and munitions were sent to Kyiv in support of its war with Russia.
A surge is also expected this year as orders approved in 2024 often go into the order backlog for US weapons makers, who are planning for a surge in demand for artillery rounds, Patriot missile interceptors and armoured vehicles.