A newly released report by the Center for International Policy finds the U.S. dominated arms and defense exports to the Middle East region between 2015-2019, accounting for nearly half of all deliveries of major weapons systems.
GCC forces conduct an operation in Bahrain.
“The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been the site of multiple wars throughout this century…the vast bulk of the weapons used in these wars are supplied by outside powers,” CIP notes. “As the world’s leading arms exporter, the U.S. holds a dominating presence in the global arms market, at 36% of total arms deliveries worldwide. This leading U.S. role is even more pronounced when it comes to the MENA region. The U.S. was far and away the largest arms supplier to the Middle East and North Africa for the period covered by this report, accounting for 48% of all deliveries of major weapons systems, nearly three times the share accounted for by the next largest supplier.”
The next four top suppliers were Russia (17%), France (11%), the United Kingdom (U.K.) (5%), and Germany (5%).
“China, which has been discussed as a possible replacement supplier if the U.S. or other suppliers cut back their transfers to the region, accounted for less than 3% of the deliveries to the Middle East and North Africa for the period 2015 to 2019. The one area in which Chinese arms exports have had an impact in the region is in the sale of armed drones,” CIP notes.
The report also finds the U.S. dominated arms transfers to the Gulf States. It was the top supplier to Saudi Arabia (74%); Kuwait (70%); the UAE (68%); Qatar (50%); and Bahrain (33%).
The Center for International Policy (CIP) is an independent nonprofit center for research, public education and advocacy on U.S. foreign policy. CIP’s Arms and Security Program does independent research, media outreach, and public education on issues of nuclear policy, Pentagon spending, and the impacts of the global arms trade, with an eye towards promoting reforms in U.S. policy.
