Arms transfers globe
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Flows on the globe for the selected product, given the layers, by value
Key points
World transfers of major arms in 2020–2024 totaled about 145 bn TIV. TIV (trend-indicator value) is a notional SIPRI unit: it reflects the military capability of the delivered equipment rather than the value of deals and is not converted into dollars. The United States accounts for 42% of world exports, France for 10%, Russia for 8%, and China and Germany for 6% each. The largest recipients are Ukraine and India (9% each) and Qatar and Saudi Arabia (7% each). Aircraft and helicopters account for 43% of all transfers. As a rule, they are flown to their destination under their own power, so the globe shows them as air routes.
According to the model, about 69 bn TIV was delivered by sea. The key maritime chokepoints over the five years are the Suez Canal (~31 bn TIV), the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait (~26 bn), the Strait of Gibraltar (~22 bn) and the English Channel (~21 bn). About half of Bahrain’s arms imports and over 40% of Qatar’s pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Taiwan Strait carries 84% of South Korea’s exports, including tanks and howitzers for Poland. Poland, in turn, receives 77% of its arms imports through the Danish Straits.
Importance of straits
Click “Close strait” in the list below or select a strait on the globe. The model shows how much in transfers passes through it and which countries depend on it most: recipients are highlighted in red, suppliers in orange. The more saturated the color, the larger the share of the country’s transfers that passes through the strait.
Straits and canals
Estimated volume of seaborne transfers through each strait in the selected layer. The “Close strait” button shows whose transfers depend on it.
Click a flow, country, strait or hub on the globe
About the data
Data. Source: the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database; transfers in 2020–2024 in TIV, database version as of October 2026. SIPRI counts both sales and free military aid. The database covers only major arms: aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, artillery, missiles, air defense systems, radars, ships and engines. Small arms and ammunition are generally not included. Transfers to non-state armed groups and international organizations, as well as transfers from unidentified suppliers, are not included in the globe.
Layers. “All” — all transfers; “Aircraft” — airplanes and helicopters; “Missiles & air defense” — missiles, anti-aircraft systems and radars; “Equipment” — armored vehicles, artillery, engines and other; “Naval” — ships and naval weapons. For country pairs with transfers of 5 m TIV or more, the breakdown by type is taken from SIPRI; for the rest, it follows the structure of the supplier’s exports.
What is shown. The globe shows the 70 largest sea flows, the 40 largest air flows and the 25 largest overland flows. All values are five-year totals. When a strait is closed, country lists include countries accounting for at least 0.5% of world transfers in the layer.
Mode of transport. Transfers between neighboring countries (within Europe, between Russia and its neighbors, etc.) are treated as overland. In the model, aircraft and helicopters are flown to their destination, and all other weapons are delivered by sea. SIPRI does not publish data on the mode of delivery, so this is a model assumption.
Routes and importance of straits. A route is the shortest path between the countries’ main ports over the network of sea lanes. A strait’s importance for a country is the share of its transfers through the strait in its total imports or exports of the given weapon type. When a strait is closed, the model looks for a detour and estimates how much longer it is (at an average vessel speed of 14 knots); if there is no detour, the transfer is considered cut off.
Limitations. This is a computational model, not vessel-tracking data. Military cargo is often shipped via specialized ports and air bases, and some missiles and air defense systems are delivered by military transport aircraft. The model routes transfers to Ukraine from outside Europe via North Sea ports, with onward delivery overland.
WhiteIndex. Arms Transfers Globe (October 2026). Data: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, 2020–2024.
All sources
SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, 2020–2024
This text was translated automatically from Russian. Figures, years, names and sources are as in the original.
Transfers of major arms in 2020–2024: who exports them, who receives them and which sea routes matter for these deliveries