A few days ago, a research institute in Sweden, Swedish released a "2021 Global Arms Sales List" that attracted public attention. This list shows that the global arms sales totaled US$592 billion, with the United States being the first, with a total sales of US$299 billion, accounting for 51% of the total global sales; China's second sales were US$109 billion, accounting for 18% of the total . Russia is sixth with sales of US$17.8 billion.
Although China's arms sales are still very different from that of the United States, it can be seen that China's arms sales are still relatively obvious, indicating that China's weapons are becoming more and more advanced, and can be increasingly recognized by many countries, which plays an important role in balancing global military strength and maintaining global peace.
This list of arms sales will also undergo huge changes in 2022. Some analysts believe that the sharp decline in Russia's sales has been related to the severe sanctions imposed by the West. As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, this situation will continue, and Russia's arms sales will decrease significantly in the future. , while the United States consumed a large amount of European weapons inventory because of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which led to the American arms dealers receiving a lot of arms orders. Now they are the most profitable group, which shows that the United States is the number one beneficiary of the war.
Over the years, China's manufacturing has always won good reputation for quality and low price. In recent years, many products exported to the outside world have generally won good reviews from users with excellent quality. For example, Saudi once purchased China's "Silent Hunter" laser cannon and achieved a brilliant record of shooting down 13 drones for the first time in the world. Due to outstanding performance, Saudi Arabia spent $1.3 billion to purchase several additional units this year. The situation of J-10CE is similar. Because its performance exceeded the expectations of the Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan once again purchased J-10CE.
In addition, there is another dark horse in global arms sales, that is, South Korea. On December 3, it was reported that South Korea's arms exports in 2022 were more than twice the historical high of last year, reaching US$17 billion, and may even reach US$20 billion in 2022. South Korea revealed that Yoon Seok-yeol has made South Korea's replacement of China as the world's fourth largest arms supplier as its main policy goal.
This month, South Korea delivered to the Polish army, the first batch of 10 K-2 main battle tanks and 24 K-9 self-propelled artillery . These South Korean-made weapons have arrived at the Port of Gdynia, Poland. The Polish Army ordered 180 K-2 tanks and 212 K-9 self-propelled artillery from South Korea. Earlier, South Korea and Poland signed a US$3.55 billion export contract for the 230mm-class "Tianhua" long-range rocket launcher.
South Korea's weapons exports were from 2016 to 2020. The biggest buyers are the UK, Philippines and Indonesia. The largest order for South Korea's weapons this year comes from Poland. It can be seen that South Korea's current major weapons exporters are mainly NATO countries. These NATO countries are unlikely to purchase weapons from China. The biggest problem with South Korea's arms export is that it does not have any core technology. Whether most weapons "developed" by South Korea can complete national acceptance tests is a big question.
Although South Korea seems ambitious, the outside world is cautious and skeptical about this. According to data, our military equipment is mainly sold to South Asia and Africa, while South Korea's main customers are concentrated in Europe. This means that there are obvious differences in the arms sales areas between the two sides, and due to the particularity of arms trade, it is very difficult for South Korea to replace our position.
Some experts believe that South Korea's arms sales surge is mainly because South Korea has three major advantages . First, South Korea has no hegemonic ambitions, and arms procurement is a sensitive issue for a country. In the context of the game between the United States, Russia and China and the United States, purchasing South Korea's arms does not need to face the pressure of selecting sides, nor will it make the purchasing countries worry about posing a certain dependence. Its 2: South Korea's weapons are superior in performance, fair in price, and have good cost-effective advantages. Third, South Korea's arms use NATO specifications, which allows users to communicate with NATO countries, whether in equipment operation or ammunition specifications.
In fact, South Korea is also very clear that its technology and market are inseparable from the United States. In the turbulent world situation, the United States cannot arrange its own orders, so it gave South Korea some chance. So of course they will take this opportunity to make a fortune. But no matter what, China is still a dream to "overtake on the curve ". As for what kind of military industry in South Korea can develop in the future, it depends on the United States.
