- International families
- 4042015 to 2024
- Leading country
- United States1.3× the next
- All families
- 3,731home filings included
- Over five years
- Falling2020 to 2024 against the five before
Year by year
Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.
Volume
International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.
Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google
Share by country
Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.
Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google
Country leaderboard
International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.
Ten largest
United States
Germany
France
United Kingdom
China
South Korea
Türkiye
Belgium
Sweden
Canada
88
67
32
24
23
20
14
13
12
12
| 2000 to 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 88 | 21.8% | 1.0× | 463 | |
| 2 | Germany | 67 | 16.6% | 1.0× | 110 | |
| 3 | France | 32 | 7.9% | 0.6× | 44 | |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 24 | 5.9% | 0.7× | 39 | |
| 5 | China | 23 | 5.7% | 1.1× | 2,425 | |
| 6 | South Korea | 20 | 5.0% | 0.5× | 245 | |
| 7 | Türkiye | 14 | 3.5% | 1.8× | 42 | |
| 8 | Belgium | 13 | 3.2% | 0.2× | 13 | |
| 9 | Sweden | 12 | 3.0% | 1.0× | 12 | |
| 10 | Canada | 12 | 3.0% | 1.0× | 22 | |
| 11 | Italy | 10 | 2.5% | 1.0× | 17 | |
| 12 | Israel | 10 | 2.5% | 0.7× | 14 | |
| 13 | Switzerland | 7 | 1.7% | 1.3× | 8 | |
| 14 | Finland | 6 | 1.5% | 0.5× | 6 | |
| 15 | Australia | 4 | 1.0% | 0.3× | 5 | |
| 16 | Spain | 4 | 1.0% | 1.0× | 4 | |
| 17 | Singapore | 4 | 1.0% | 0.0× | 4 | |
| 18 | Czechia | 4 | 1.0% | 0.3× | 4 | |
| 19 | Taiwan | 3 | 0.7% | 2.0× | 10 | |
| 20 | Netherlands | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 4 | |
| 21 | Austria | 3 | 0.7% | 2.0× | 7 | |
| 22 | Denmark | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 3 | |
| 23 | Russia | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 146 | |
| 24 | Ireland | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 4 | |
| 25 | Brazil | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 8 | |
| 26 | Poland | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 19 | |
| 27 | Liechtenstein | 3 | 0.7% | 0.0× | 3 | |
| 28 | Mexico | 3 | 0.7% | 0.5× | 4 | |
| 29 | Japan | 1 | 0.2% | – | 9 | |
| 30 | India | 1 | 0.2% | – | 1 | |
| 31 | Norway | 1 | 0.2% | 0.0× | 1 | |
| 32 | Hong Kong | 1 | 0.2% | – | 1 | |
| 33 | Malaysia | 1 | 0.2% | – | 1 | |
| 34 | Portugal | 1 | 0.2% | – | 1 |
Applicants
The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Operational Sustainment & War Reserves. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.
Global
404 international families
RHEINMETALL WAFFE MUNITION GMBH · Germany
RAYTHEON CO · United States
THYSSENKRUPP AG · Germany
THYSSENKRUPP MARINE SYS GMBH · Germany
BAE SYSTEMS PLC · United Kingdom
FN HERSTAL SA · Belgium
15
14
13
11
9
9
United States
88 international families
RAYTHEON CO
BAE SYS INF & ELECT SYS INTEG
BOEING CO
HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC
ENSIGN BICKFORD AEROSPACE & DEFENSE CO
ENSIGN BICKFORD AEROSPACE & DEFENSE COMPANY
14
3
3
3
2
2
Germany
67 international families
RHEINMETALL WAFFE MUNITION GMBH
THYSSENKRUPP AG
THYSSENKRUPP MARINE SYS GMBH
KRAUSS MAFFEI WEGMANN GMBH & CO KG
HIRDES GMBH HEINRICH
MBDA DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
15
13
11
8
4
4
France
32 international families
NEXTER SYSTEMS
MBDA FRANCE
ARIANEGROUP SAS
KNDS FRANCE
NAVAL GROUP
ARESIA VALENTON
6
5
4
3
2
1
United Kingdom
24 international families
BAE SYSTEMS PLC
SECR DEFENCE
MBDA UK LTD
ACCLES & SHELVOKE LTD
ALFORD IP LTD
BARTLETT MICHAEL
9
6
2
1
1
1
China
23 international families
BEIJING INSTITUTE TECH
CYTAC TECH LIMITED
SHENZHEN CYTAC IND CO LTD
SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
UNIV HUIZHOU
BEIJING SINOBANG DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
4
2
2
2
2
1
Similar capabilities
The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with Operational Sustainment & War Reserves, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.
Strategic Infrastructure
Military Bases & Installations
15.1% shared · 255 families in both
United States
Germany
South Korea
United Kingdom
Japan
353
218
111
100
84
National Security
Land Fires
4.0% shared · 70 families in both
United States
Germany
France
United Kingdom
South Korea
357
232
127
113
93
Strategic Infrastructure
R&D & Testing Facilities
3.5% shared · 114 families in both
United States
France
China
United Kingdom
Germany
1,103
402
262
254
246
National Security
Defence Industrial Mobilisation
3.1% shared · 23 families in both
United States
Germany
France
China
United Kingdom
96
38
34
29
27
Strategic Infrastructure
Manufacturing Facilities
3.0% shared · 75 families in both
United States
France
Germany
United Kingdom
Japan
892
274
266
193
97
National Security
Combined Arms Manoeuvre
2.6% shared · 118 families in both
United States
Germany
France
Türkiye
United Kingdom
1,319
502
222
212
211
National Security
Long-Range Strike
2.0% shared · 24 families in both
United States
Germany
United Kingdom
France
Israel
278
159
88
77
44
National Security
Air Strike & Interdiction
1.9% shared · 12 families in both
United States
United Kingdom
Türkiye
Germany
South Korea
45
40
29
23
15
National Security
Standing Force Generation & Training
1.6% shared · 17 families in both
United States
Germany
South Korea
United Kingdom
Canada
217
90
58
38
30
Crosswalk
How Operational Sustainment & War Reserves is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 27 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.
| Entry | Title in the scheme | Why it is chosen | CPC codes | IPC codes | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F42B39/00 | Packaging or storage of ammunition or explosive charges; Safety features thereof; Cartridge belts or bags | Packaging, storage and transport safety of ammunition | 18 | 13 | 11,953 |
| F42B35/00 | Testing or checking of ammunition | Testing and checking of ammunition | 2 | 2 | 5,049 |
| F42C21/00 | Checking fuzes; Testing fuzes | Checking and testing of fuzes | 1 | 1 | 2,136 |
| F41A31/00 | Testing arrangements | Testing arrangements for guns | 2 | 2 | 2,549 |
| F42B33/06 | Dismantling fuzes, cartridges, projectiles, missiles, rockets or bombs | Dismantling and disposal of ammunition | 4 | 1 | 3,030 |
| F42B39/007 | Packaging or storage of arrows or darts | Left out |
CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.
The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Operational Sustainment & War Reserves: 27 codes on 21,802 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.
| Code | Title | Under entry | How placed | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F42B35/00 | Testing or checking of ammunition | F42B35/00 | In the scheme | 3,103 |
| F42B39/00 | Packaging or storage of ammunition or explosive charges; Safety features thereof; Cartridge belts or bags | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 1,933 |
| F42B33/06 | Dismantling fuzes, cartridges, projectiles, missiles, rockets or bombs | F42B33/06 | In the scheme | 1,894 |
| F42B39/14 | Explosion or fire protection arrangements on packages or ammunition | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 1,396 |
| F42B39/20 | Packages or ammunition having valves for pressure-equalising; Packages or ammunition having plugs for pressure release, e.g. meltable ; Blow-out panels; Venting arrangements | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 1,380 |
| F42C21/00 | Checking fuzes; Testing fuzes | F42C21/00 | In the scheme | 1,346 |
| F42B39/26 | Packages or containers for a plurality of ammunition, e.g. cartridges | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 1,319 |
| F41A31/00 | Testing arrangements | F41A31/00 | In the scheme | 1,305 |
| F42B39/02 | Cartridge bags; Bandoleers | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 1,289 |
| F42B39/08 | Cartridge belts | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 924 |
| F42B35/02 | Gauging, sorting, trimming or shortening cartridges or missiles | F42B35/00 | In the scheme | 784 |
| F42B39/22 | Locking of ammunition in transport containers | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 737 |
| F42B33/067 | Dismantling fuzes, cartridges, projectiles, missiles, rockets or bombs by combustion | F42B33/06 | In the scheme | 616 |
| F42B39/30 | Containers for detonators or fuzes | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 526 |
| F42B33/062 | Dismantling fuzes, cartridges, projectiles, missiles, rockets or bombs by high-pressure water jet means | F42B33/06 | In the scheme | 454 |
| F42B39/24 | Shock-absorbing arrangements in packages, e.g. for shock waves | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 427 |
| F41A31/02 | Testing arrangements for checking gun barrels | F41A31/00 | In the scheme | 394 |
| F42B39/085 | Cartridge belts for blank cartridges | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 386 |
| F42B39/28 | Ammunition racks, e.g. in vehicles | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 336 |
| F42B39/002 | Cartridge containers provided with cartridge-dispensing means | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 301 |
| F42B39/10 | Machines for charging or for extracting cartridges from feed belts | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 298 |
| F42B39/087 | Feed belts manufactured from fabric or plastics material | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 196 |
| F42B39/18 | Heat shields; Thermal insulation | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 193 |
| F42B39/16 | Fire-extinguishing | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 98 |
| F42B33/065 | Dismantling fuzes, cartridges, projectiles, missiles, rockets or bombs by laser means | F42B33/06 | In the scheme | 66 |
| F42B39/082 | Cartridge belts for caseless ammunition | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 61 |
| F42B39/005 | Protection for driving bands | F42B39/00 | In the scheme | 40 |
Other capabilities in Joint Command, Projection & Sustainment
- Command, Control & Communications
- Strategic Lift & Mobility
- Expeditionary & Peace Operations
- Defence Industrial Mobilisation
- CBRN Defence