Germany sees sharp fall in arms exports after record highs

Germany approved the sale by the United Kingdom of Eurofighter aircraft to Turkey, earlier this year.
A 3D rendered artist’s impression of the Eurofighter Tranche 5 | Image: Airbus Defence and Space SAS

Berlin: After two record years, there has been a significant decline in export licences for German weapons and military equipment in 2025, government figures showed on Monday.

Germany authorised sales of weapons and other military equipment worth €8.4 billion ($9.9 billion) between January 1 and December 8 2025, according to a response by the Economy Ministry to a request from The Left lawmaker Ulrich Thoden.

In the two previous years, the volume of approved deliveries had reached record levels of €13.33 billion in 2024 and €12.15 billion in 2023.

Significant decline in licences for Ukraine

The response by Thomas Steffen, state secretary in the Economy Ministry, shows a significant decline in arms exports to Ukraine in particular.

The value of authorised German military exports to Kiev up to December 8 was €1.14 billion, far below the €8.15 billion in the full year of 2024.

A ministry spokeswoman told dpa that ongoing support for Ukraine is partly based on previously granted licences.

“On the other hand, funds for Ukraine are being channelled into longer-term projects, which will not all be reflected immediately in export authorisations, but only later on,” she added.

Highest figure for Turkey since 1999

In total, export licences worth €5.39 billion can be attributed to the conservative-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which took over in May.

The top recipient of German military aid was Norway with €1.31 billion, ahead of Turkey on €726 million, the highest figure since 1999.

Left-wing lawmaker Thoden criticised the development, warning that “arms exports are used strategically by the federal government, which means that allies are supported regardless of their human rights record.”