Finland’s realized exports of war materiel reached almost €702 million in 2025, according to the annual arms-control report by the Helsinki think tank SaferGlobe. As reported by STT and carried by Demokraatti, that is the highest value in SaferGlobe’s data series, which begins in 2002.
Where the Exports Went
SaferGlobe attributes the growth mainly to exports of land vehicles and their components to Sweden, Japan and Latvia. About 74 per cent of the total went to Europe.
Sweden was the largest destination, taking just over a quarter of all Finnish war-materiel exports, mostly land vehicles and components, plus precision rifles and their accessories. Japan was the second-largest destination, receiving mainly land vehicles and components.
The report does not name the programs. The Japanese figure fits a known one, though. In December 2022 Japan selected Patria’s AMV XP 8×8 to replace the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Type 96 armored personnel carriers, with licensed production in Japan, according to Patria. Japan Steel Works delivered the first locally built vehicle in September 2025, after cooperation that included technology transfer (Patria). Militarnyi reported that production starts with final assembly from kits and components supplied from Finland.
Licences Versus Deliveries on Israel
Export licenses for Israel totaled about €14 million, but actual exports came to only about €55,000. Of that, €20,400 was fire-control and related equipment and €34,000 was miscellaneous equipment and materials. The Ministry of Defence’s own annual report records two refused export licenses in 2025: one for Albania (precision rifles and parts) and one for Israel (steel cuttings). Two confidential licences were granted.
Why It Matters
The record is less about volume than about what Finland now sells and to whom. Its export base is armored mobility: vehicles and components that sit inside other nations’ land forces and supply chains. Sweden at the top reflects Nordic integration since both countries joined NATO. Japan in second place shows a Finnish platform becoming part of an Indo-Pacific ally’s force through licensed local production.
That model matters beyond Finland. Kits and components flowing from Finland to a Japanese assembly line tie a small European producer’s industrial capacity to an Asian ally’s force structure over many years. It is the kind of cross-theatre industrial link that turns the abstract “Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific” connection into contracts, parts and sustainment.
The gap between Israeli licenses and deliveries is a reminder that license values and realized exports measure different things. Political scrutiny can sit between them, and readers should treat the two figures accordingly.