Arms exports from Germany rose 30% in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier, Economy Ministry data published Sunday showed, Report informs referring to DW.
Between January 1 and June 18, the government approved total weapons exports worth at least €7.48 billion ($8.01 billion).
By June 18, exports had already reached 60% of 2023's total, the ministry data showed. If the trend continues for the remainder of the year, the total value of arms sales is set to reach a new record.
Germany's weapons exports for the whole of last year hit an all time high of €12.2 billion, mostly due to commitments to Ukraine to defend against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Some €6.44 billion of the export licenses awarded last year were for war weapons and €5.76 billion for other military equipment, including armored vehicles.
The surge in exports comes despite the governing coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz promising to curb arms deliveries when it took office in December 2021, especially to non-European Union and NATO members.
The three parties that make up the coalition, the Social Democrats, the environmentally-friendly Greens Party and the business-friendly FDP, planned to introduce legislation to aid the controls.
Months after Scholz's government took power, Russia's tanks rolled into Ukraine and the plans were shelved.