TSAMTO, January 31. The increase in tension in Eastern Europe is unprecedented, said the chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Andrey Serdyukov at a briefing on January 30.
He noted that a significant presence of collective and national troops remains in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Belarus and Russia. "Their military activity, the intensity and scale of joint exercises are increasing," Serdyukov said.
"The operational equipment of the region is being actively improved in order to reduce the time required for the regrouping of NATO troops to the borders of the Organization," he stressed.
At the same time, the Eastern European countries forming the "eastern flank of NATO" are implementing rearmament programs in an accelerated mode. The United States, which is the largest supplier of weapons to Eastern European countries, has assumed a leading role in this process.
CAMTO included 12 NATO countries in the list of states forming the "eastern flank of the Alliance." These are Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Four Eastern European NATO countries are excluded from consideration because they have small armed forces. These are Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania.
The analysis below takes into account data on the 12 above-mentioned NATO countries.
The CAMTO estimates the actual arms imports of 12 Eastern European NATO countries in 2016-2023 at $23.748 billion. At the same time, the United States supplied weapons to the region in the same period in the amount of 10.996 billion dollars, or 46.3% of the total arms market of the 12 countries of the eastern flank of NATO.
The CAMTO estimates the package of arms import orders formed in 2016-2023 by the countries of this region at 117.361 billion dollars. At the same time, the United States has formed a package of orders for the supply of weapons to this region in the amount of 62.368 billion dollars, or 53.14% of the total arms market of the 12 countries of the eastern flank of NATO.
The monstrous degree of militarization of these countries is evidenced by the fact that the order portfolio formed in 2016-2023 is almost 5 times higher than the volume of actual arms imports over the same period.
Moreover, it was the United States that helped to warm up the Eastern European arms market and continue to inspire an unrestrained arms race in the Eastern European region.
The actual US arms exports to the countries of the region in 2016-2023 and the package of concluded contracts for the same period
The United States is the only exporting country present in the arms markets of all 12 countries. Moreover, in terms of arms exports to this region over an 8-year period (2016-2023), the United States ranks first in 8 of them. These are Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.
Over the same period, the United States ranks second in the Lithuanian market, third in the Hungarian market, and fifth in the Estonian market. There are no identified supplies to Bulgaria for the period 2016-2023 (however, during the same period, the United States concluded a package of arms supply contracts with Bulgaria in the amount of $3.760 billion).
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Finland's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023 with a volume of 734.5 million dollars (51.35% of the market). The order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to $13.226 billion (90.9% of the market, also 1st place).
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Latvia's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023. with exports of ViVT in the amount of 305.7 million dollars (42.77% of the market). The order portfolio formed during the same period amounts to $502.8 million (29.1% of the market, 2nd place). Germany took the first position with the volume of contracts signed in the amount of 654 million dollars.
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Poland's largest arms exporters in the period 2016-2023 with exports of $2.924 billion (35.44% of the Polish arms market). The order portfolio formed during the same period is 33,010 billion dollars (50.77%, also 1st place). It should be noted that the volume of declared intentions for Poland's direct purchase of American weapons is greater, but they are not taken into account here, since the contracts have not yet been signed.
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Romania's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023. - 5,472 billion dollars (78.41% of the market). The order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to 5,688 billion dollars (66.79% of the market, also 1st place).
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Slovakia's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023 – 261 million dollars (35.13% of the market). The order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to $2.050 billion (47.44% of the market, also 1st place).
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Slovenia's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023 – 69.5 million dollars (45.96% of the market). The order portfolio formed during the same period amounts to $139.5 million (27.5% of the market, 2nd place). Italy took the first position with the volume of contracts signed in the amount of 354.6 million dollars.
The United States ranks first in the ranking of Croatia's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023. – 255.5 million. USD (66.47% of the market). The order portfolio formed during the same period is 403.3 million dollars (22.8% of the market, 2nd place). France took the first position with the volume of contracts signed in the amount of 1.256 billion dollars.
The United States ranks first in the ranking of the largest exporters of Czech defense products in the period 2016-2023 – 408.3 million dollars (36.3% of the market). The order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to $1.480 billion (24.02% of the market, 2nd place). Sweden took the first position with the volume of concluded contracts worth $2.768 billion.
The United States ranks second in the ranking of Lithuania's largest exporters of PVN in the period 2016-2023 with a volume of 178.2 million dollars (18.6% of the market). Germany took the first position with an export volume of 594.3 million dollars. The US order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to $1.259 billion (52.35% of the market, 1st place).
The United States ranks third in the ranking of the largest exporters of Hungarian defense products in the period 2016-2023 with a volume of 333.3 million dollars (14.78% of the market). France took the first position with an export volume of $830 million. Germany ranks second ($601.6 million). The US order portfolio formed over the same period is about $500 million (7.46% of the market, 4th place). Germany took the first position in the order portfolio ($2.885 billion). France ranks second ($1.195 billion), and Norway ranks third (about $1 billion).
The formed package of orders in 2016-2023 reflects Hungary's preferential orientation towards the purchase of weapons in Europe, which radically distinguishes it from other NATO countries. Moreover, if in 2016-2023 the US share in the Hungarian market in terms of the actual volume of arms supplies was 14.78%, then in terms of the formed package of orders for the same period, the US share was half as much (7.46%).
The United States ranks fifth in the ranking of the largest exporters of Estonian defense products in the period 2016-2023 with a volume of 54.7 million dollars (9.8% of the market). The Netherlands took the first position with an export volume of $140 million. Israel ranks second ($106.9 million), South Korea ranks third ($82.3 million), and France ranks fourth ($61.8 million). The US order portfolio formed over the same period is $349.4 million (28.57% of the market, 1st place).
There are no identified U.S. arms shipments to Bulgaria for the period 2016-2023. The US order portfolio formed over the same period amounts to $3.760 billion (84.17% of the market, 1st place).
For reference:
Other global suppliers have the following positions in the market of 12 Eastern European countries: Germany and Israel are present in the arms market of 11 countries in the region, France is present in the market of 8 countries, Sweden – 7 countries, Great Britain – 6 countries, Norway – 6 countries, Italy – 6 countries, Turkey – 5 countries, Austria – 5 countries, South Korea – 4 countries, Finland – 4 countries, the Netherlands – 4 countries, Poland – 4 countries, Spain – 3 countries, Brazil – 2 countries. The remaining suppliers are present in this market sporadically and with small supplies.
