EU's Africa report: Turkey is the fastest-growing country in the defense market

According to EU reports covering the arms market in Africa, France is the country where arms exports across the continent have fallen the fastest. Russia still holds dominance in the defense sector, but China has been challenging Moscow across the continent in recent years. The reports also reveal that Turkey is the fastest-growing country in the defense sector on the continent.

According to a report by Emre Öztürk from Haber Global, African countries spent a total of 51.6 billion dollars on their defense last year. While this figure accounts for 2.1 percent of the global defense budget pie, EU reports predict that the demand for arms imports across the entire continent will rise rapidly in the medium and long term.

TURKEY'S SHARE IN AFRICA HAS INCREASED

According to EU reports, while the arms market across the continent fell significantly between 2018 and 2022, the share of European countries, including Turkey, increased. During this period, arms and defense imports by European countries to African nations rose by 47 percent. The countries where arms imports fell the most were Algeria with 77 percent and Morocco with 46 percent.

Russia is the largest arms supplier across the continent with a 40 percent share. Russia is followed by the USA with 16 percent, China with 9 percent, and France with 7 percent. China, one of the major players on the continent, does not disclose official data. It is stated that Russia generates over 2 billion dollars in revenue from arms trade on the continent. Russia earned the most revenue from the sale of Su-24, Su-30, and Mig-29 fighter jets, as well as S-300 air defense systems. However, according to the reports, this ratio changes in favor of Western countries in central and southern parts of the continent. In sub-Saharan African countries, Russia's share in the arms market is only at the 24 level. Moscow's arms sales are primarily carried out by the state-owned company Rosoboron. 

EU reports allege that a significant portion of the US arms sales on the continent is carried out “covertly.”  Unlike other countries, the US arms trade is conducted by the private sector. Leading these companies are Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L3Harris.

US ARMS ARE SOLD MOSTLY TO THESE COUNTRIES

US arms are sold most to Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Niger; another surprising piece of information in the reports is that former French colonies are rapidly abandoning French weapons and turning to China and Turkey. China, which became the continent's largest commercial partner in 2023 with a volume of 282 billion dollars, has also tripled its arms sales in the last three years. According to the reports, 7 out of every 10 African countries are equipped with Chinese weapons.

According to the data in the EU reports, the “fastest-rising arms exporter on the continent” is Turkey. According to the reports, which underline that Turkey has a very wide network and agreements in the continent in the fields of politics, culture, health, infrastructure/superstructure, economy, and defense, Ankara is among the key players in defense exports.

TURKEY'S DEFENSE VOLUME IN AFRICA IS GROWING

According to the information, while Turkey's defense volume on the continent was at the 83 million dollar level in 2020, this figure rose to 460 million dollars in 2021. The greatest demand in Turkey's arms exports to the continent is seen for armored combat vehicles and the TB2 Bayraktar UCAV. According to the commentary in the reports, by purchasing weapons from Turkey, African countries “also avoid the necessity of taking a diplomatic side between the US, Russia, or China.”

News Source: 12punto