US arms sales jump 50% in 2022 amid security concerns over war in Ukraine and Chinese aggression

Growing security concerns around the world, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s aggressive stance in the Far East, sparked Gun sales in the United States will increase by almost 50 percent in 2022, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Thursday.

The DSCA, a subsidiary of the Department of Defense, reported that during fiscal year 2022, the US saw approximately $52 billion worth of arms sales compared to nearly $35 billion in sales reported in 2021.

“Perhaps most importantly, [we attribute this to] understanding among our partners and allies that we are back in an era of great power competition,” said DSCA Director James Hursch. “They see what’s It happened in Ukraine.“

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“Central European countries, for example, are looking to get some of the same capabilities that have worked well for the Ukrainian military and increase their own deterrence capabilities,” he added. “The allies are looking at China and the Situations with China in Asia and think that they need to increase their capacities”.

The increase is not only due to nations looking to expand their defense capabilities, but also to existing partners looking to modernize their security measures.

“As we continue to improve our equipment, it tends to get more expensive,” he said, explaining that High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) are more expensive than howitzers.

“And that’s the kind of upgrade that a number of our allies and partners are looking to do,” he added.

The DSCA has also reportedly helped allied countries expand surveillance, with more than 40 defense advisers deployed to nearly two dozen countries through the DSCA Ministry of Defense Adviser Program to advise on acquisition. weapons and national security strategies.

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The increase in defense sales is not expected to slow anytime soon as several nations, including major allies such as Sweden and Finland, which are looking to join NATO, they have expanded their defense budgets.

As nations continue to provide Ukraine with not only Soviet-era equipment, but more modern defenses from their stocks, they are also looking to replenish and improve their defensive postures.

The US alone committed nearly $15 billion in security assistance to Ukraine from the invasion attack on February 24 through the end of 2022, using Presidential withdrawals from existing stocks, as well as through the US Security Assistance Initiative. Ukrainian security.

Hursch said the DSCA has been “intimately involved” in working with the Ukrainian “theater” demands and the US European Command.

The director said that despite the efficient gains achieved in 2022, they are still working on post-COVID bottlenecks to optimize procurement.

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Increasing work with partner nations is also critical to help forecast demands based on regional needs, Hursch said.

“I think the centrality of our security cooperation mission will continue to increase,” he said. “If you look at the National Defense Strategy and the National Security Strategy, you’ll see stronger words about the need to work with partners and allies: Integrated deterrence has a very important role to play in working with partners and allies.”