Arms Sales

Awash with arms and facing a breakdown in law and order, war-torn eastern Ukraine has all the elements required to become a major illicit international weapons market. Long a nexus in the global arms trade, Ukraine is already witnessing a boom in black-market sales of arms seeping out of the conflict zone, fueling what authorities say is a wave of violent crime in the country.

Despite widespread global interest and reputed export sales to countries from East Asia to the Arabian Gulf, Israel’s Iron Dome anti-rocket intercepting system has not yet been sold to a single customer, government and industry sources say.

The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and the rise of Iran in the wake of its nuclear deal appear to have set the stage for a further escalation in the region’s Shia- Sunni rivalry. Meanwhile, Russia has re-established itself as a major player in the Middle East with its military deployment to Syria.

The global defense trade increased at a record pace last year, with the value of the market expanding by $6.6 billion to be worth $65 billion in 2015, according to a new report by IHS Jane's. The U.S. held the top spot as the world's largest exporter, supplying $22.9 billion worth of defense equipment up from $12.9 billion in 2009.