But 2022 had been exceptional thanks to an order for 80 Rafale fighter jets by the United Arab Emirates.
French arms exports fell to 8.2 billion euros in 2023 after reaching a record level of 27 billion in 2022, according to the annual report to Parliament, a copy of which was published by the online newspaper Mediapart.
The historic 2022 balance sheet was due to an order for 80 Rafale fighter jets by the United Arab Emirates, for just over 16 billion euros.
“After an exceptional year in 2022 due to the export of the Rafale to the United Arab Emirates, the year 2023 is more balanced,” comments the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu in the introduction to the report, which will be officially published “outside the current affairs period”, according to the ministry.
2024 should be significantly on the rise
The year 2023 was marked by the entry into force of an order for 18 Rafales by Indonesia for 2.6 billion euros, and by several contracts of more than 200 million euros (Caesar cannons for Lithuania, corvettes for Angola and Patroller drones for Greece), accompanied by a stable base of contracts each less than 200 million euros.
The decline comes as global military spending saw its biggest increase in a decade in 2023, reaching $2.4 trillion due to ongoing conflicts, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
However, according to the report, the amount of orders promises to be “much greater” for France in 2024 than in 2023, notably thanks to a contract for four submarines concluded between Naval Group and the Netherlands, or the order for 12 Rafale placed by Serbia.
