IHS Says Saudi Arabia Replaces India As Largest Defense Market For U.S.

(RTTNews) - IHS Inc. (IHS), a global source of critical information and insight, said global defense trade increased for the sixth straight year in 2014 to $64.4 billion from $56.8 billion.

The company released its annual Global Defence Trade Report, which examines trends in the global defense market across 65 countries. It is based upon 40,000 defense program deliveries from IHS Aerospace, Defence & Security's Markets Forecast database.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia topped India to become the largest defense market for U.S. Saudi Arabian imports increased by 54 percent between 2013 and 2014. India was the second t op defence importer, followed by China.

Based on planned deliveries, imports will increase by 52 percent to $9.8 billion in 2015. One out of every seven dollars spent on defence imports in 2015 will be spent by Saudi Arabia.

Ben Moores, senior defense analyst at IHS Aerospace, Defence & Security, said, "Defence trade rose by a landmark 13.4 percent over the past year. This record figure has been driven by unparalleled demand from the emerging economies for military aircraft and an escalation of regional tensions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific."