In the past five years, European imports of weapons from the United States have significantly increased, raising questions about Europe’s goal of achieving defense autonomy. According to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Europe’s weapon imports have increased two-and-a-half times compared to the previous five years, with two-thirds of those imports coming from the United States. This poses challenges to Europe’s ability to defend Ukraine in the event of a US arms cut-off, as stated by Matthew George, the director of SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Programme. Many European Union members only began boosting their domestic weapon production last year, leading experts to argue that the West has not adequately prepared for a prolonged conflict. Despite this, some observers are optimistic about Europe’s potential to develop its own weaponry, especially with the shift towards AI-drone warfare. Ukraine, for example, has set a goal to produce a million first-person view drones and has made significant progress in increasing its own weapon production. Meanwhile, the European defense market is thriving, with Western European firms claiming a significant share of the global market. While Europe’s defense stock market has seen significant growth, Russia’s armaments export market has declined, with India and China shifting towards Western suppliers and increasingly relying on their own weapon production. Although Europe is set to boost domestic production, it still faces challenges, including competition from US-based weapon systems and a lack of comparable air defense systems.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/10/europes-reliance-on-us-weapons-has-risen-says-sipri?traffic_source=rss