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Germany approved export licenses for weapons and military equipment worth about 13.9 billion euros, or $15.9 billion, in the first six months of 2026, with Ukraine the leading recipient, according to provisional figures released Wednesday.
The government authorized exports totaling roughly 13.87 billion euros from January through June, the Economy Ministry said.
That included about 9.6 billion euros in war weapons and 4.3 billion euros in other military goods.
Ukraine received approvals worth about 2.5 billion euros, making it both the largest overall destination and the top non-European Union (EU) recipient.
The German government said the licenses were intended to support "Ukraine's self-defense against Russia's illegal war of aggression."
Other leading recipients of German arms exports this year included the United States, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Estonia and Slovenia.
Israel ranked sixth among the top destinations, with approved exports valued at about 799 million euros.
The ministry said more than 60% of that total was linked to a major maritime defense project.
Nearly 20% stemmed from German-Israeli industrial cooperation "in the interest of" the German armed forces, while the rest covered other military equipment that does not qualify as war weapons, according to the ministry.
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