Global defense spending on everything from munitions to nuclear weapons jumped 9% to a record $2.2 trillion (£1.7 trillion) from the previous year, and will rise again in 2024 as the world enters a “period of more… Danger”.
Russia – You are at war with Ukraine – It allocates more than 30% of annual government spending to its armed forces, according to an assessment of the global balance of military power issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which was published on Tuesday.
It said the Russian Armed Forces had lost more than 3,000 main battle tanks in Ukraine, roughly the number they were prepared to deploy before the all-out invasion two years ago. Moscow now relies on stored equipment to compensate for losses, by “trading quality for quantity.”
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The rise in spending was also driven China And also NATO alliance.
Even except United StateNATO allies, which have the world's strongest military, have re-increased their combined defense spending by about a third in the past decade, a move prompted by Vladimir Putin's initial invasion of Crimea in 2014, the analysis said.
But it warned that “stark gaps” in capabilities remained after decades of defense cuts. Donald Trump He caused a stir over the weekend when he criticized the majority of European NATO allies Canada Because of their failure to meet the minimum target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, he said he would urge attacks on member states that had not invested adequately in their armed forces.
The United States and Europe are once again working to ramp up missile and ammunition production, with a renewed focus on artillery and air defense systems – areas that have been neglected since the end of the Cold War, with stockpiles and industrial capacity hollowing out, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said. Outside.
Countries, including China and Russia, are also focusing on new technology such as hypersonic missiles – which travel five times faster than the speed of sound and are difficult to intercept – as well as unmanned weapons such as unmanned attack boats, which Ukraine has been using very effectively. The International Institute for Strategic Studies said it was against the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.
“Nuclear weapons are also largely back on the agenda, with China adding missile silos and the United States modernizing warheads and delivery systems,” the think tank said in a statement issued ahead of the publication of its annual Military Balance.
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This is the 65th year of the report, which tracks the state of every military in the world.
The think tank said the world “has entered a more dangerous period in the past 12 months.”
This came against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, and growing tensions between the West and China.
The Chinese Communist Party is showing an increasing ability to project force, a move that leads to increased cooperation between the West and other militaries in Asia to confront the threat, the think tank said.
As highlighted IranIran's growing influence such as the supply of Iranian anti-ship missiles to the Houthi rebels in Yemen Yemen Which attacks shipping in the Red Sea, as well as the sale of Iranian drones to Russia, which are being used to devastating effect in Ukraine.
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“Global defense spending rose by 9% from the previous year and is expected to rise further in 2024, based on spending commitments already announced,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies said.
Bastian Giegerich, Director General and CEO of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: “The IISS Military Balance Report is being published at an important time when the rules-based order is increasingly being called into question.
“As Western defense spending increases and equipment renewal plans continue, we reflect on challenges including those posed by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Chinese military modernization and events in the Middle East.”
