US arms sales to other countries arranged through the US government increased to more than $51.9 billion in 2022 from $34.8 billion in 2021, which is a significant uptick, largely due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.
New data released Wednesday by the US State Department shows that the United States registered an increased rush among European nations to arm themselves since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, pushing US weapons sales up 49%.
According to data, sales of US-made military equipment to foreign governments increased to $205.6 billion (48.6%) in the latest fiscal year and included $6 billion worth of General Dynamics Corp’s M1A2 Abrams tanks to Poland, $13.9 billion worth of Boeing’s F-15ID fighter jets to Indonesia, and $6.9 billion worth of Lockheed Martin Corp’s Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships to Greece.
As the State Department pointed out, the direct commercial sales were also increased as authorizations adjudicated in support of Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself from Russia’s unprovoked aggression, jumping from $103.4 billion in weapons and military equipment the American defense contractors sold directly to foreign governments in 2021 to $153.7 billion in 2022.
Washington considers arms transfers and defense trade, which are overseen by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the State Department, as important tools of American foreign policy and national security.
There are two major ways in which foreign governments can purchase arms from US companies and they require US government approval.
Commercial sales can be negotiated directly between the government and the company, while in foreign military sales, a foreign government usually contacts a Defense Department official at the US embassy in the capital of that country.
This means that the data for 2022 published by the State Department only shows potential arms deals it has notified lawmakers of, and not the final sales.
For the Department to go through a sale, the deals first need to be reviewed to establish if they line up with the United States’ goals, and only notifies Congress of the sale if they’re approved.
It’s Congress, which has the option to reject a potential sale, that has to approve it before the US government can move on to negotiations.
