Merkava Barak (IDF)
Israel remains a major player in the global arms trade, ranking among the world’s largest arms importers and exporters, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The latest data, covering 2020-2024, places Israel as the 15th-largest arms importer, dropping one position from its 2015-2019 ranking.
Israel accounts for 1.9% of total global arms imports, with the United States as its primary supplier, providing 66% of its military imports. Germany follows with 33%, while Italy accounts for 1%. A U.S. State Department report published in January 2024 highlighted a significant $18.8 billion arms deal for F-15 aircraft as part of U.S. weapons exports to Israel.
As a key player in the global defense industry, Israel continues to influence international arms trade trends.
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Despite the ongoing war in Gaza, arms imports by Israel remained largely stable between 2015–19 and 2020–24. In 2020–24 the USA supplied the biggest share of Israel’s arms imports (66%), followed by Germany (33%) and Italy (1%). Israel was the 15th largest arms importer globally in 2020–24, down from 14th in 2015–19.
“Israel has received substantial military aid from the USA following the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023,” said Zain Hussain, Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Program. “However, for its recent military operations, Israel has employed mainly US-supplied weapons it had received earlier. Israel’s adversaries Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have relied on Iranian arms, and Hezbollah and the Houthis have used Iranian-supplied missiles and drones against Israel.’”
On the Middle East in general, Hussain commented, “Regional conflicts and tensions continue to drive demand for arms imports in the Middle East. Given the volume of pending deliveries, the Middle East will remain a major arms-importing region.”
In addition, SIPRI reported that Ukraine became the world’s largest importer of major arms in the period 2020–24, with its imports increasing nearly 100 times over compared with 2015–19. European arms imports overall grew by 155% between the same periods, as states responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and uncertainty over the future of US foreign policy. The United States further increased its share of global arms exports to 43 per cent, while Russia’s exports fell by 64%.
