New Delhi: According to data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 9, 2026, the overall increase in international arms flows was the highest since the 2011–2015 period. Ukraine emerged as the only nation to import more than India, receiving 9.7% of all global arms transfers and taking the top spot. India followed closely, accounting for 8.2% of the global share. This underlines how dependent India is on arms imports. In a world marked by severe geo-political turbulence and at least three active war theatres, that has consequences.Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan rounded out the world’s top five importers, capturing 6.8%, 6.4%, and 4.2% of the global share, respectively.Despite its high global ranking, India’s overall arms imports actually decreased by 4.0% compared with the 2016-2020 period. The SIPRI report critically notes that substantial delays in domestic production persist, but also acknowledges India’s growing ability to design and produce its own military equipment, though it.The data also highlights a continuous, systematic shift in India’s defence procurement strategy toward Western suppliers over the past decade. While Russia remains India’s largest single arms supplier, its share of Indian arms imports dropped to 40% in 2021–25. This marks a sharp decline from 51% in 2016-2020 and 70% in 2011-2015.France has firmly positioned itself as India’s second-largest supplier, providing 29% of the country’s imports, followed by Israel at 15%. The bilateral arms trade between New Delhi and Paris is highly symbiotic; India was the largest recipient of French arms globally, accounting for 24% of France’s total exports. India also remained the primary global destination for Russian weapons during this period.Looking ahead, the data indicates that India will maintain a heavy reliance on foreign suppliers in the near future. SIPRI documents massive pending Indian orders, which include up to 140 combat aircraft from France and six submarines from Germany.Regional tensions and the Pakistan-China nexusThe report states that armed conflict and regional tensions – particularly the strategic triangle between India, Pakistan, and China – continue to drive the heavy demand for major arms in the Asia and Oceania region.This dynamic is evident in Pakistan’s rapidly expanding military procurement. Pakistan’s arms imports surged by 66%, elevating the country from the tenth position in 2016-2020 to become the fifth-largest recipient of major arms globally. This buildup is being heavily fueled by Beijing; China supplied 80% of Pakistan’s arms, up from 73% in the previous five-year period.Consequently, China maintained its position as the world’s fifth-largest arms supplier with a 5.6% global share, with Pakistan acting as its primary client and receiving 61% of all Chinese arms exports. Conversely, China’s own arms imports plummeted by 72%, a drop largely attributed to Beijing’s rapidly expanding domestic production capabilities.Europe re-arms and the US dominatesBeyond Asia, the global surge in weapons transfers was driven heavily by European states, which saw their arms imports grow by a staggering 210%.“While tensions and conflicts in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East [West Asia] continue to drive large-scale arms imports, the sharp increase in arms flows to European states pushed global arms transfers up almost 10 per cent,” stated Mathew George, Director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. He noted that deliveries to Ukraine since 2022 were the primary factor, adding that other European nations have also imported significantly more weapons to shore up their military capabilities.On the export side, the US maintained its overwhelming dominance, remaining the world’s absolute largest supplier. US arms exports grew by 27%, giving Washington a massive 42% share of total global arms exports.“The USA has further cemented its dominance as an arms supplier, even in an increasingly multipolar world,” stated Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI programme. Wezeman noted that the United States increasingly views arms exports as both a vital tool of foreign policy and a mechanism to strengthen its domestic arms industry.Following the US, France emerged as the world’s second-largest supplier with a 9.8% global share, representing a 21% increase in its overall exports.The biggest loser in the global arms market was Russia, which was the only top ten supplier to record a decrease. Globally, Russian arms exports fell by 64% between the two periods. Russia, which was the second-largest global supplier in 2016-2020, is now ranked third behind the US and France, seeing its global share shrink drastically from 21% to just 6.8%. Germany capitalised on market shifts to overtake China, becoming the fourth-largest arms exporter with 5.7% of global exports.West Asia and Israeli dynamicsIn West Asia, overall arms imports shrank by 13%, though the region remains heavily militarised. In addition to Saudi Arabia and Qatar ranking third and fourth globally, Kuwait also retained its position among the world’s top ten importers.Israel experienced significant shifts as both a buyer and a seller. The country increased its own arms imports by 12%, with 68% of those imports supplied by the US. Simultaneously, Israel expanded its footprint as an exporter, increasing its share to 4.4% and overtaking the United Kingdom to become the seventh-largest arms supplier globally.Zain Hussain, Researcher with the SIPRI programme, pointed out that the Israeli arms industry focuses heavily on air defence systems, for which there is high global demand. “Despite conducting the war in Gaza and attacks in Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria and Yemen, Israel still managed to increase its share of global arms exports,” Hussain stated.