The US State Department has reported a 29% increase in its military equipment sales to foreign governments, reaching a total of $318.7bn in the fiscal year 2024 (FY24).
This uptick in sales is attributed to nations replenishing their military inventories, which were depleted due to support provided to Ukraine, as well as preparing for potential large-scale conflicts.
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The department stated that arms sales and transfers are seen as “important US foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security.”
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system alone accounted for $117.9bn of the total value, which is a 45.7% increase from the previous fiscal year’s $80.9bn.
Throughout FY2024, the FMS system managed 16,227 cases with an open case value surpassing $845bn.
The breakdown of the $117.9bn in FY2024 includes $96.9bn in arms sales directly funded by US allies and partner nations.
Additionally, $11.8bn was financed through the Title 22 Foreign Military Financing programme, and $9.2bn was allocated through Department of Defense Building Partner Capacity programmes and specific Department of State programs under the Foreign Assistance Act.
Over a three-year period, the rolling average value for transferred defence articles, services, and security cooperation activities under the FMS system for FY2022-FY2024 reached $83.6bn, which is a 49.6% increase from the $55.9bn average for FY2021-FY2023.
Few sales approved in 2024 included transactions such as $23bn for F-16 jets and aircraft upgrades to Türkiye, $18.8bn for F-15 fighter jets to Israel, and $2.5bn for M1A2 Abrams tanks to Romania, among others.
In addition, the total authorised value for Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) authorisations in FY2024 was $200.8bn, covering hardware, services, and technical data for exports, temporary imports, reexports, retransfers, and brokering activities.
This figure marks a 27.5% increase from the $157.5bn in FY2023.
The three-year rolling average for DCS authorisations issued by the State Department for FY2022-FY2024 was $170.6bn, showing a 23.5% increase from the previous three-year period.
By the end of FY2024, there were 15,220 entities registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls for conducting defence trade activities, more than the previous fiscal year.
