DefenceTalkU.S. military forces are facing demands that were not anticipated in the development of current strategy and budgets, according to a new RAND Corporation report. As a result, the posture and capability of U.S. forces are not keeping pace with the challenges posed by America’s most-capable adversaries, researchers say. If policymakers wish to maintain the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-boost-defense-funding-or-limit-military-commitments-65666/

DefenceTalkThe government of the Netherlands is following through on an earlier pledge to commit a EUR100 million ($112 million) real-term increase to the defense budget on an annual basis with an earmark of an extra EUR220 million ($248 million) under its fiscal year 2016 budget. With the country’s current inflation rate around 0.8 percent the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dutch-government-plans-to-bolster-defense-spending-in-2016-65440/

DefenceTalkGermany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has urged NATO states to adhere to the two-percent target for military spending. She was speaking on the 60th anniversary of West Germany joining the alliance. Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, von der Leyen warned the NATO members against fixating purely on the target of spending two percent […]https://www.defencetalk.com/german-minister-calls-for-more-nato-defense-spending-64764/

DefenceTalkUS Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter will visit his European counterparts this week to take stock of cooperation with NATO in the wake of Russian aggression in Crimea and Ukraine. The visit comes as officials say the military bloc’s activity in Europe is at its strongest in decades. “This month the US and NATO have […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-chief-to-seek-greater-nato-support-on-europe-trip-64582/

DefenceTalkThe 2015 Budget is part of the Commonwealth Government’s plan to build a strong, safe and prosperous future for all Australians. The first responsibility of Government is to keep our people safe in an uncertain world. In the 2015 Budget, the Government will continue to make a significant investment in the safety and security of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/australia-boost-defence-spending-in-2015-budget-64152/

DefenceTalkMilitary spending increased sharply in 2014 in China and Russia and the Ukraine conflict prompted eastern European countries to boost their defence programs, according to a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Monday. The United States remains the world’s biggest spender on defence, but it spent 6.4 percent less year-on-year in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-russia-and-eastern-europe-boost-defence-spending-study-63848/

DefenceTalkChina dismissed Japanese concerns about its defence spending as “ridiculous” on Thursday after Tokyo commissioned its biggest-ever helicopter carrier. Both sides are boosting their military budgets as they grow increasingly wary of each other’s ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region, facing off over a maritime territorial dispute and how to interpret Japan’s motivations and actions during […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-hits-out-at-japan-over-defence-spending-worries-63666/

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/

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/

DefenceTalkChina’s ruling Communist Party will launch a year-long probe into the incomes of military staff, state media said Thursday, following revelations of widespread graft in its armed forces. Party leaders have described corruption as a key threat to China’s military modernization campaign, which has seen double digit increases in the army budget for more than […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-to-probe-army-spending-in-corruption-crackdown-report-62944/