DefenceTalkSweden said on Thursday it would raise defence spending by 6.2 billion kronor (677 million euros, $720 million) and bring back troops to a “strategic” Baltic island amid concerns over Russia’s military resurgence. The country’s left-wing government said most of the money, to be spent between 2016 and 2020, would go towards modernizing ships that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-raises-military-spending-amid-concerns-over-russia-63488/

DefenceTalkDiscussion around the level of defence spending over the next Parliament continued to attract media coverage over the weekend and into the start of this week. A report in The Financial Times suggested that senior military figures were not expecting the next government to maintain spending at 2% of GDP. According to independent defence analysts […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-mod-denies-spending-cuts-european-army-63436/

DefenceTalkChina unveiled a fresh double-digit spending boost for its military on Thursday with a 10.1 percent increase in 2015, as it is embroiled in a series of territorial disputes with its neighbours. Beijing plans to raise its military spending to 886.9 billion yuan ($141.4 billion), according to a budget report to the annual session of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-extends-military-splurge-with-10-1-budget-increase-63395/

DefenceTalkLooking east to the bloody conflict gripping Ukraine, NATO-member Poland has kicked off an unprecedented military spending spree worth billions to overhaul its forces as Warsaw believes peace in Europe is no longer a given. The escalation of tensions with Russia over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and subsequent role in the crisis in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/poland-to-spend-billions-on-defence-amid-rumblings-of-war-in-europe-63043/

DefenceTalkU.S. defense spending dropped to 38 percent of the global total in 2014, compared to its 47 percent share in 2010, according to an assessment of global military capabilities published Wednesday in Britain. Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies says the shift comes as military spending in the Middle East and Asia rises […]https://www.defencetalk.com/military-spending-rises-in-asia-middle-east-62946/

DefenceTalkIncluded within the $126.5 billion the Army has asked for in its fiscal 2016 base annual budget, is some $230 million for professional military education for Soldiers. The request represents an increase of about 21 percent over the $190 million the Army asked for last year, said Maj. Gen. Thomas A. Horlander, director of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-requests-126bn-for-fy2016-budget-62605/

DefenceTalkIn a bid to keep the US military’s technological edge, President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for 2016 calls for an increase in defense spending to pay for high-tech weapons and training. The $585 billion request for the Pentagon would devote $107.7 billion to big-ticket weapons — an increase of $14.1 billion over the previous budget. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-asks-for-more-funds-for-high-tech-weapons-62552/

DefenceTalkA recent report from the Congressional Research Service, which examines the cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other global “War on Terror” operations since 9/11, calculates a cumulative (fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2014) nominal price tag of $1.6 trillion. Adding the war funding for fiscal year 2015 that was passed in December pushes the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/wars-in-the-middle-east-have-cost-taxpayers-almost-1-7-trillion-62208/

DefenceTalkThe United States has lifted restrictions on a small portion of its military assistance to the Philippines that was withheld over human rights concerns, the foreign minister said Thursday. The gesture affects about $15 million dollars that have been withheld over the last five years, a fraction of Washington’s total military assistance to the South […]https://www.defencetalk.com/philippines-says-us-has-lifted-restrictions-on-military-aid-funds-62089/

DefenceTalkDeteriorating international relations across the world have caused countries to sanction extensive naval modernization and re-armament programs in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Russia. The Ukraine crisis, territorial disputes on the South China Sea and growing tensions in the Middle East have ensured that the market growth remains stable, although low. New analysis from Frost […]https://www.defencetalk.com/rising-security-threats-sustain-expenditure-on-military-naval-vessels-platforms-61982/