Three regional nations made another top 10 list, although this time it might not be cause for celebration. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey have topped the list for global weapons imports last year.
Coming in at No. 1 is Saudi Arabia, with imports increasing by 54 percent between 2013 and last year. Expected to grow another 52 percent this year, the total import spending should hit $9.8 billion in 2015. This means the Gulf kingdom will be responsible for $1 out of every $7 spent globally on defense imports.
Global defense import data was collected and released by IHS .
"Growth in Saudi Arabia has been dramatic and, based on previous orders, these numbers are not going to slow down," IHS senior defense analyst Ben Moores said in a statement.
Small arms, munitions, homeland security and intelligence programs are not included in the IHS report.
Combined together, Saudi Arabia and the UAE spent $8.6 billion on defense systems imports, with the United States as the main beneficiary. In total, $8.4 billion went to the US from Middle Eastern nations for defense imports in 2014, up from $6 billion the previous year. The largest US companies exporting weapons are Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have likely upped their spending with the threat of ISIS seeming so close. Both nations have joined the U.S. coalition against the group, which has threatened to attack both the US and its allies within the region.
With Saudi Arabia's spending on defense imports seeming to trend upward, regional countries may dominate this list for the near future. IHS seems to agree, as Moores said, "The Middle East is the biggest regional market and there are $110 billion in opportunities in the coming decade."
Opportunities? Call us hippies, but we are crossing our fingers that IHS and Moores just might be wrong.