US hits record arms sales in 2024 driven by Ukraine demand

The US State Department reported a record $ 318.7 billion sale of military equipment to foreign governments in 2024, which included the sale of $ 18.8 billion of jet fighters to Israel, despite the country’s ongoing investigation into the genocide in Gaza.

US weapons sales figures from the Biden administration’s final year were released on Friday, coming amid rising global instability and regional tensions.

Direct military sales by US companies rose to $200.8bn in fiscal 2024 up from $157.5bn in 2023, while sales arranged through the US government rose to $117.9 bn in 2024 over $80.9bn the prior year.

Arm sales and transfers are viewed as “important US foreign policy tools with potential long-term effects for regional and global security,” according to a statement from the State Department.

Sales approved in 2024 included but were not limited to $23bn in F-16 jets and aircraft upgrades to Turkiye’s military, $18.8bn worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, and $2.5bn in sales of M1A2 Abrams tanks to Romania.

The State Department said the US takes a “holistic approach” to arms sales and “weighs political, social, human rights, civilian protection” among many factors – including economic and military – when determining “the appropriate provision of military equipment” to allies and partners.

However, according to US investigative journalism organization ProPublica, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to approve arms transfers to the nation in violation of US law and ignored earlier warnings about Israeli human rights violations in the wake of the Gaza war.

Gaza’s Israeli military has killed more than 47,200 Palestinians, according to images showing how devastated entire cities have been turned into rubble with the aid of US weapons, including bombs, missiles, warplanes, and other weapons.

The Biden administration is accused of knowingly funding Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza by human rights organizations, UN experts, and even former US government officials.

In a detailed report released in November 2024, Human Rights Watch explained how Israel had made a conscious effort to stop Palestinians from occupying large portions of Gaza.

US defense contractors are working to meet the growing need for weapons as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US is attempting to replenish its own stockpiles after sending weapons and munitions to Kyiv to support its war with Russia, while other international ministries of defense have been lining up to place orders to increase their inventories of US weapons.