France: record arms export in 2022, thanks to Ukraine and Rafale
France said Wednesday that its arms exports hit a record last year, helped by sales of Rafale aircraft, amid rising global defense spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
French arms exports totaled 27 billion euros ($30 billion) in 2022, up from 11.7 billion euros a year earlier, the ministry said in its annual report to parliament, seen by AFP. France is the third largest arms exporting nation in the world, after the United States and Russia.
A notable commercial success was the indigenous fighter Rafale . A contract with the UAE for 80 fighter jets alone has contributed more than 16 billion euros to the French total, and also includes extended maintenance of the aircraft.
Indonesia has placed a firm order for six Rafales, as has Greece, further consolidating the global success of the Dassault Aviation-manufactured fighter.
Since then, India has signed a memorandum of understanding for 26 Rafales for naval use, after 36 had been delivered for its air force. As we have already written, New Delhi is developing an ongoing relationship with Paris thanks to the joint development of jet engines .
Greece also ordered three French defense and intervention frigates last year and signed contracts for maintenance and related armaments.
Poland agreed in December to buy two French observation satellites, becoming a customer of Paris after buying the tanks from South Korea.
“The appreciation of French arms goes beyond the Rafale,” Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in the report. "It has become a global reference in a wide range of capabilities, including missiles, frigates, submarines, artillery, radar helicopters and observation satellites."
France's arms export record comes as global military spending is higher than ever in three decades.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), world military spending in 2022 – the year Russia attacked Ukraine – reached $2.24 trillion, or 2.2% of domestic product. worldwide gross.
Nearly two-thirds of French arms exports went to the Middle East, about 23% to Europe and 8% to Asia and Oceania. Unfortunately, the loss of the contract for submarines with Australia weighs heavily, switching to the purchase of American nuclear ones, otherwise the result would have been much more
France's largest arms customers between 2013 and 2022 were the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, India, Saudi Arabia and Greece.
NGOs often criticize France for supplying arms to what it calls authoritarian regimes, but the defense ministry said in the report that France has always respected its "international commitments" and arms exports were subject to "very strict rules and export controls. And then, in the end, "Pecunia non olet", not even in Paris.
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The article France: record arms export in 2022, thanks to Ukraine and Rafale comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/francia-esportazione-record-di-armi-nel-2022-grazie-a-ucraina-e-rafale/ on Thu, 27 Jul 2023 08:00:39 +0000.