(Reuters) - Sales of U.S. military equipment to foreign governments in 2024 rose 29% to a record $318.7 billion, the U.S. State Department said on Friday, as countries sought to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine and prepare for major conflicts.

The figures underpin expectations of stronger sales for U.S. weapons makers like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, whose shares are forecast to rise amid rising global instability.

Arms sales and transfers are viewed as "important U.S. foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security," the State Department said in a statement.

Sales approved in the year included $23 billion worth of F-16 Aircraft Acquisition and Modernization to Turkey, $18.8 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, and $2.5 billion worth of M1A2 Abrams tanks to Romania.

The orders approved in 2024 often go into the order backlog for U.S. weapons makers who are expecting orders for hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, hundreds of Patriot missile interceptors, and a surge in orders for armored vehicles will underpin their results in coming quarters.

There are two major ways foreign governments purchase arms from U.S. companies: direct commercial sales negotiated with a company, or foreign military sales in which a government typically contacts a Defense Department official at the U.S. embassy in its capital. Both require U.S. government approval.

The direct military sales by U.S. companies rose to $200.8 billion in fiscal 2024 from $157.5 billion in fiscal 2023, while sales arranged through the U.S. government rose to $117.9 billion in 2024 from $80.9 billion the prior year.